Regret and the Return of Luke
by percabeth777
Summary: Sequel to Regret and the Return of Calypso! Percy struggles to say 'the three small words every girl wants to hear' to Annabeth, but will Luke's shockingly sudden reappearance delay everything they stood for? Thuke and Percabeth!
1. I Regret Getting Interrupted by Snow

**I'm finally back with a sequel for _Regret and the Return of Calypso_! Any new comers who haven't read that story- you may find this slightly confusing, but I'll do my best to explain everything clearly so it isn't too confusing. Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions and encouragement for this follow up story! Special plot credit to Miz636, who inspired this sequel with her amazing suggestions and plot idea, and also for an awesome beta job! **

**Please read, review, and enjoy! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Um…wait, let me double check- Nope, I'm not Rick. ^_^**_

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f__A sheet of blank white snow covered a range of icy mountains. A set of footprints tracked from miles away, ruining the perfect surface of the snow. _

_Far under the mountains, a girl sat kneeled along the coast of ridged rocks. She folded a cloth that looked like it had been torn from her own attire, hurriedly in her bare hand; her fingertips slowly turning blue from the cold. _

_A sharp scream echoed off the jagged mountains and the girl turned around in panic, revealing her face. _

_It felt like she was looking right at me with wide, alarmed, almond-colored eyes and my heart skipped a beat. _

_The image blurred and the scene scattered. _

_Rough wind blew, causing powdered snow to swirl off the ground and tangle into the dry air rapidly, like a blizzard. The girl struggled to brush her braided, auburn hair out of her eyes as she made her way through inches of layered snow. _

_Slowly another figure came into sight. The girl bent over the figure's body, laying the cloth across his forehead. _

_She whispered to him, softly humming a melody. He shut his eyes tightly and the screams of pain escaped his bleeding lips. _

_"Shhh," The girl pressed a pale hand to the boy's purple skin. His clothes were torn and ragged. The dry scars of battle marked his crumpled body. _

_He cried another scream of pain, and it echoed off the mountains' hollow curves. _

"_It's okay," the girl whispered, gathering as much of his drained body as she could into her lap. _

_When she moved just enough to prop him up against one of the rocky walls, I got my first look at his full face._

"Percy…"

_He had a lost look in his glassy blue eyes, his face thin and pale. A narrow scar ran from his left eye, down to his cheek. _

"Percy!"

I woke up.

Paul stood in the doorway of my room. "You okay?" He asked; his smile withering.

I was back in my small apartment, and it had been nothing but a dream. I was breathing pretty hard, but I gave my step dad a reassuring look.

This wasn't the first time I had had that dream, but it still shook me no matter how many times I had already seen it. The girl in my dream was Calypso, and the guy had been Luke.

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

Paul took me out of my thoughts. He smiled, "You better get up. Annabeth's coming to see you today, remember?"

My world did a flip, and I scrambled out of bed.

Just the thought of finally getting to see Annabeth again- after three enormously long months- made me forget about everything else.

"That got you out of bed," Paul laughed, before telling me that breakfast was ready.

Once he'd left, I made my way over to the window; looking down at the rows of cars stuck in a traffic jam due to the weather conditions in Manhattan. It was snowing lightly outside, and the streets were already decorated with the month's early Christmas decorations.

"You all packed up for camp?" My mom asked me, as we settled down around the dining table.

I poured maple syrup over my pancakes. "Yeah,"

School was out for Winter Break, and I was heading over to camp for a couple of weeks for the vacation. My mom seemed a lot more relaxed about letting me out of her sight while I was at camp this time, and I figured it was probably because the war was over.

Last summer, things got crazy when Calypso appeared in the real world due to a bargain I had made with the gods, and eventually my prophecy forced me to choose between Annabeth and Calypso. I had chosen Annabeth, and without realizing, chosen to save Olympus. Kronos was defeated that summer, and Annabeth and I had finally sorted things out. Everything was going steady.

Annabeth had already arrived at camp a couple of days ago, but today she was coming down to my apartment. We planned to take a quick tour around Manhattan, maybe catch something to eat, and then I would grab my bags and we would head back to camp together.

The morning went by quickly to my relief. I had called Annabeth a few times, just to make sure she was on her way.

A long distance relationship wasn't easy, but Annabeth and I made it work. These past months, with school going on and Annabeth all the way in San Francisco, things had been really tough. My parents were supportive, and I managed to talk to Annabeth everyday over the phone. But, that still didn't erase the fact that I was dying to see her in person.

That's also probably why I nearly jumped, knocking my mom off her feet, when I raced to open the door when the bell rang.

Annabeth stood in the doorway and for a second my world stopped rotating.

"Percy!" She took a huge step forward, filling my arms. She nearly crushed my ribs, but I was pretty sure that her circulation wasn't thanking me too much either. I was probably mumbling something stupid, but nothing mattered anymore.

Forever might have passed by before we finally pulled away, on my realization that my mother and step dad were standing right behind us.

I stepped away as Annabeth unzipped her winter coat and shook the fresh winter snowflakes out of her curly blonde hair.

"Hi, Sweetheart!" It was my mom's turn to give Annabeth a hug. "How are you?"

"Great," Annabeth smiled, and I took her coat from her hands and hung it up.

My mom insisted on Annabeth having some of her home-made brownies right away, and she disappeared into the kitchen.

I sat next to her on our small couch in our living room and Annabeth looked over at me when we had all settled. Her eyes were shining. "Hi," she said, realizing that we hadn't really greeted each other properly yet. "I really missed you, Seaweed Brain."

Before I could say anything, Paul spoke and I remembered that he was sitting there on the couch across from us. "You sure?" He said jokingly, "I take it you two had a nice _two-hour_ talk just this morning."

Alright…I have to admit that Annabeth and I would go overboard with the phone calls sometimes, but hey- she was miles away and talking to her was the only reassurance I could get that she was doing okay.

Of course we had sworn to our parents that we weren't the ones making calls to each other at two in the morning, when it had shown up on the phone bills. But the truth was that sometimes when Annabeth would call me up at two in the morning complaining that she couldn't sleep; I would whisper to her until I could hear her breathing steadily into the receiver, and I was sure she was asleep.

Not to mention all the times a storm would hit San Francisco and she would call me just to take her mind off of the lightning striking outside her window. There had even been a few times when both of us would fall asleep with the phone in our hands without realizing it, and we would wake up in the mornings remembering that we hadn't hung up.

Let's just say that those small little times didn't help the long distance phone bills, and they didn't exactly put our parents in the happiest moods.

My mom wasn't too thrilled about the box of golden drachmas she kept, getting lighter and lighter with every iris message me and Annabeth made to each other on rainy days when the sun would peek through our bay window, giving us a rare rainbow.

But despite everything, just being able to talk to Annabeth made everything worth it. Through the pressures of my moral life, it felt like the first second when I would hear Annabeth's voice each day, and she'd tell me how she was doing, or complain about her step-brothers annoying the living Hades out of her- just hearing her talk, knowing that she was there and everything was okay- made all my problems go away.

"Sorry," Annabeth told Paul, and I noticed her cheeks were pink. "About the phone calls, I mean. I hope me and Percy don't hold the phone line up."

Paul laughed, "No, no, it's not a problem."

My mom came out of the kitchen, handing a plate of brownies to Annabeth.

"Thanks," Annabeth took a bite and I couldn't help but look at her. Seeing her in front of me for the first time, after three long months, was just…weird. I mean, it gave me this happy feeling that I didn't exactly know how to explain.

We caught up with our lives and Annabeth told us about San Francisco. Even though I had already heard everything she was telling us, I still liked hearing her talk. It didn't last too long though; when Annabeth and Paul begun to discuss the architecture of the Golden Gate Bridge, I found myself totally oblivious to what they were saying.

It seemed like forever later, when my mom finally spoke up. "Well, you two better get going," she told us, "You don't want to get caught up in a blizzard on the way."

I made a mental note to thank my mom as Annabeth and I put on our coats by the door.

We told my parents we'd be back in a couple of hours and headed for the elevator.

I pressed the 'Ground Floor' button on the console and then put my head back against the elevators wall. I groaned, "That took forever."

Annabeth smiled, "Aw, come on, Percy. Your parents aren't that bad."

"Yeah, I guess…" I shrugged. "But it would still be nice to get five minutes alone with my girlfriend- who I haven't seen in three months- without having my mom stuff her with brownies, and having my step dad discuss 'the Golden Gate Bridge's 4,200-foot long suspension span' with her."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "We're alone now, Seaweed Brain, aren't we?"

She clasped her fingers with mine and stood in front of me. For a second, my eyes flashed over to the digital screen at the top of the elevator console that read 'Level 10' and slowly changed numbers as we went down.

Butterflies suddenly filled my stomach, but it definitely wasn't from the elevators motion. Annabeth had put her lips on mine, and I felt like every bone in my body melted right there. I pressed my hand to the back of her head and felt her body leaning into me. I lost sense of where we were, until we heard a woman's voice.

I realized the elevator had stopped at the first floor and the doors were open. It surprised me that we hadn't even heard the bell of the elevator's doors opening.

"Excuse me," The woman smiled, standing with three small children in front of her.

"Um, sorry." Annabeth squished over next to me, giving room for the other passengers to fill in.

The six of us stood in silence for what seemed like the longest ten seconds of my life, until..._D__ing_! The doors finally opened Annabeth and I headed out under the snow.

I had finally gotten my driver's license this year, but instead of nagging Paul to let us use his car or waiting for a cab, I took Annabeth's hand in mine and we walked down 81st street. A bunch of stores were lined up on the sidewalk with window displays of winter clothes and holiday ornaments. We walked until our hands turned white in the cold air which smelled like peppermint candy canes, and Annabeth and I entered a small cafe.

"What is it?" Annabeth asked me, after we had settled onto a small table in the corner of the coffee shop.

"What's what?" I said.

"You were staring at me."

I tried not to smile, "I just missed seeing you, and now that you're really sitting in front of me it just feels amazing."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "What's this? Is Seaweed Brain actually being romantic?"

"Hey, I can be romantic!" I protested.

Annabeth laughed, which was a sound I didn't get to hear too often. Everything was going perfect and I couldn't help but feel happy. We gave our orders to the waitress that had come over, and we only had to wait a couple of minutes before our drinks were ready.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" Annabeth asked me, looking slightly amused.

"I don't know," I put my mug down. "I guess Rachel's gotten me used to it."

"Mmmm," Annabeth took a sip of her hot chocolate, "So, how's she doing?"

"Fine," I told Annabeth about how Rachel was spending her entire winter break leading a protest rally for the homeless people of Manhattan.

It was funny how Annabeth suddenly found absolutely no problem with Rachel. They weren't the best of friends, but Annabeth didn't completely hate her guts like she had before last summer, and that was good enough for me.

Annabeth told me about camp, and how Grover had been planning to go on a search again for new demigods around Canada.

"Canada?" I asked.

"Yeah, he says he senses some pretty powerful half bloods up in the mountains over there."

For a second I remembered my dream from this morning, and how the mountain ranges I had seen were the types spread out across Canada's border.

I looked at Annabeth stirring her spoon in her drink, and for a second I thought that just maybe I should mention my dreams to her. But, to be honest, I really didn't feel like bringing up Luke on such a nice day. Annabeth looked carefree and happy, and I didn't want to ruin it by giving her something to worry about.

Last summer, when Kronos had been sealed up and defeated, Luke's body was left in shreds and then he had _faded_ away right into the air.

Annabeth still wasn't satisfied with Luke's disappearance, and I knew Luke wasn't her most favorite subject to discuss.

I pushed all of the dreadful thoughts out of my head and focused on Annabeth.

She leaned back in her chair, staring out of the clear window where light snow was falling down, sticking to the curb of the sidewalk. "It's cold in New York." She mumbled absently.

As I stared at Annabeth I couldn't help but think of something that had been poking me at the back of my mind for months now. I hadn't given it too much thought before, but now with Annabeth sitting right in front of me, I couldn't avoid the thought. I wasn't a genius when it came to love or anything, but Annabeth and I had been dating for almost a year now, and I was pretty sure that I exactly how I felt about her. It just bugged me that I hadn't told her yet.

I mean, sure, she knew that I cared about her more than anything else, but I honestly wanted her to know that I loved her.

"Percy..." I realized I had zoned out and Annabeth was trying to get my attention.

"Huh?"

"What were you thinking about, Seaweed Brain?"

I had fought the Titan Lord Kronos in battle one-on-one, but just trying to say _I love you _to your girlfriend seemed like the hardest thing in the world. I didn't know why it was so hard for me to spit the three words out. It wasn't like I was scared of Annabeth's reaction or anything, but it was more about the fact that I wanted the moment to be perfect.

"Percy!" Annabeth snapped again.

"Um, sorry." I cleared my head.

Annabeth stared at me. "What's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking that..." I touched Annabeth's knee with mine, underneath the table. My mind started seizing on little details, like how a small snowflake was tucked in Annabeth's hair which curled just at the ends as it hung over her shoulder. "Um...I mean… I just wanted you to know that..." The words were stuck on my tongue.

Behind us some more people entered the cafe, and a gust of cold air filled the shop as the doors opened. Annabeth looked back outside through the window, where the wind had suddenly decided to go crazy, and the snow was coming down thicker. It was a pure blizzard outside.

"Percy, we should really get going." Annabeth told me, "If it starts snowing any harder, we won't be able to make it to camp."

She was right. As much as I hated the fact that I had gotten interrupted, it was hard to feel too down today; with Annabeth across from me, knowing that I'd have plenty of more times to make the moment just right.

The waitress cleared our table, and we paid the bill before heading back outside through the storm. Just when we finally neared my apartment, I felt a huge powdered ball slam into my back. I turned on my buildings steps, where Annabeth stood behind me- a smirk on her face- bouncing a snow ball in her right hand.

"Oh, you are _so _on." I said making a grab for her.

She barely scattered away through the snow, and I chased after her. Despite the fact that we were laughing like idiots, and getting looks from everyone entering and exiting the building- it was just plain fun.

After rolling around in the snow for a while, somehow Annabeth managed to pin me down and I surrendered right before she could smash a wet snow ball into my face.

She laughed, brushing the ice off her jeans as she stood up.

"I guess that proves who the better fighter is," she said, giving me her hand. I took it.

"No way, that was totally unfair." I complained as we made our way back into the heated building, snow covering our clothes.

"It was totally fair!"

We boarded the elevator and I rolled my eyes. "Alright, fine, wise girl. You beat me at one _snowball _fight. I can totally top you in a sword fight."

"Are you kidding?" Annabeth argued, "Percy, I could totally kick your butt at sword fighting."

We argued the whole ride up, but eventually found ourselves laughing as we entered my apartment.

I shook off my coat, and went over to throw a match into the fireplace in my living room, starting a slow flame.

Annabeth scooted over close to me on the floor and held her hands up to the heat.

We sat in silence, the crackle of the fire slowly getting louder. "You know," Annabeth whispered, "there was a fire just like this the night we stared goingf out."

"Mmmm," I mumbled, too consumed with the fact that my face was getting closer to hers. "I was just thinking about that."

The last thing I remember seeing was the fire reflecting in Annabeth's pupils, before I closed my eyes and lost myself with her lips.

I could have kissed her forever, but- of course with my luck- we were interrupted.

My mom entered the living room, and Annabeth and I pulled away from each other.

"Oh," my mom smiled, "you guys are back earlier than I thought."

"Yeah...um, there was a blizzard." I said stupidly.

My mom nodded, "You'd better get your bags, Percy. I don't want you two getting stuck in the storm."

I stood up, noticing that my mom was trying hard not to ask about all the snow stuck to my clothes thanks to our little snowball fight outside.

I threw my bag pack over my shoulder and met Annabeth by the door. Paul popped up and shook our hands, wishing us luck. My mom gave both of us a hug, telling me all the usual things that had pretty much become a routine every time I went to camp.

"I love you." My mom told me as she waved to us out in the hallway. The last thing I remember thinking as she closed the door- and me and Annabeth headed down to find a cab straight to Camp Half Blood- was '_now,_ _why couldn't I just tell Annabeth those three words?'_

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**I hope you enjoyed this introductory chapter! Drama is coming up soon, so stay tuned! Please give me your thoughts, and feedback! Updates depend on reviews. So please review!**


	2. I Regret Considering Our Parents

Ah, I finally managed to get another chapter up! One word before I begin: School is _not fun_. All honors and AP classes= no time to write. I'm really sorry about the delay in getting this chapter up! Hopefully, this chapter meets my regular quality! (Once again, thanks to _Miz636_ for the beta job!) Please read, enjoy, and review!

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Camp was quiet.

A good half of my friends hadn't been able to come back out to camp for Winter Break, and things weren't the most exciting without any huge dangers threatening to kill off the demigod race. But hey, I wasn't complaining.

With fewer things to worry about, I could lay back and relax. Chiron greeted me contently when I arrived, and seeing the few familiar faces of my old friends around camp, made it worth it.

That evening, I walked along the edge of the forest with Grover. We caught up with our lives, talking over the sounds of wild animals outside the camp borders.

"Annabeth told me that you're back on the search."

Grover nodded nervously. "It's been a long time since I've sensed any half bloods out there. But, I don't know, Percy. Whoever they are...they're powerful."

"_Powerful_?" I looked over at him, "You don't mean like...'Big Three' powerful, do you?" With the Great Prophecy over, I didn't know what to except from the gods.

"No." Grover shook his head. Twigs cracked underneath our feet as we walked. "I don't think it's anything like that."

"Good." I sighed of relief. I would've preferred my dad informing me before he dropped any siblings my way.

"It's weird." Grover told me, "I've never sensed anything like this before. It feels like they're weak at the same time."

A strange thought jabbed at the back of my mind, and snippets of my previous dream clicked into my head. "Don't worry about it, G-man." I said eager to change the subject. "I'm sure they're just normal demigods. You'll find them."

Grover nodded, plopping down onto a nearby log as we neared camp. Other than the obvious look on his face, I could tell what was bugging him through our empathy link. I hit it right on the spot when I asked him, "How are things with you and Juniper?"

Grover took an exaggerated breath, his shoulders dropping. "I don't know, anymore." he bleated, "I think she's upset about something. Her leaves are turning yellow."

"Did you try asking her what's wrong?"

"Well...no. But, I know her, Percy. She's never been like this before. What if-"

"You're over thinking this, man." I told him. "It's probably nothing. Just talk to her."

Grover sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Cheer up, dude." I patted him on the shoulder.

He gave me a small smile. "I'm glad that you and Annabeth are doing really well."

"How do you know we're doing really well?"

Grover gave me a sarcastic look. "You don't need _an emotion reading satyr who has all his thoughts linked to you with an empathy link _to figure out how happy you two are."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, fine." I admitted, "I guess we do make it kind of obvious that we're doing pretty well."

"No kidding." Grover grinned.

An owl howled somewhere in the distance and I shifted on my feet. "So you and Juniper have been dating for a long time-"

"Don't jinx it!" He yelped.

"-right, sorry. I just mean, have you...told her you love her, yet?"

"Well...not exactly." Grover slouched, and I suddenly felt bad for getting him down. Asking him that question definitely didn't help his concern over Juniper at the moment, but Grover just shrugged, "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know...I guess, I've just been trying to tell Annabeth lately, but I can't spit it out."

"What?" Grover's blinked. "You haven't said _I love you _to her yet?"

"No…Well, not yet."

"Really?" Grover said, surprised. "I always thought you'd told her. I mean, anyone can tell that you guys are in love and all."

I felt like I had suddenly been zapped by Aphrodite_. In love_. The words made me feel funny. I knew Annabeth better than the back of my hand, but I was still getting used to everything about flirting, and kissing, and love. It had never bothered me too much before, though. All I had to do was be myself around Annabeth, and everything would fall into place. That's the way I wanted to keep it.

All this talk about love was seriously starting to get to my head.

"Don't make it a big deal." Grover told me, probably reading my emotions. "You should just tell her and get it out of the way. I know she feels the same way."

"Yeah, probably." I said as Grover stood up.

We headed back into camp. It wasn't everyday that me and Grover talked about our girlfriends, but just getting some second-hand advice that didn't come from my step dad felt pretty reassuring.

***

That night, I went to sleep thinking about Annabeth. But with my luck, my dreams shifted off to matters that I really wasn't in the mood for.

_Smokey fog sprawled out across the mountains and darkness had fallen. The stars were dim in the dull sky and far off under the rocks; Calypso sat, supporting a torn up Luke in her arms._

_I could hear her singing, her voice echoing off the rock's curves. Even though, I wasn't really there, I could feel my entire body entering a trance as I slept. The sound of her voice filled my head, and worked magic. _

_The scene blurred and the next time the mountains appeared, it was early dawn. _

_Luke's eyes opened slowly to Calypso's voice. "Where…?" He coughed._

_"You're safe." Calypso promised. "I'm going to help you."_

_A wave of pain must have shot up through Luke's body, because he winced in sudden discomfort. "Kronos..." he mumbled, "Golden light..."_

_"Shhh," Calypso steadied him. "The war is over. You're alive."_

_Her words echoed through my head and my heart picked up. Luke was I alive; I comprehended in a half awake state._

_The last thing I remembered hearing was Calypso's voice whispering in Luke's ear. "I'll get you to Camp Half Blood. I promise."_

I sat up.

The sun wasn't peering through my window like it usually was, and my cabin was dim.

In the very back of my mind, I knew that my dreams were trying to tell me something, but I put it off. I told myself that they were just meaningless visions, and I went on with the day.

I couldn't help but stare at Annabeth throughout breakfast. She would catch me looking, and smile over at me, but I was too consumed with my thoughts to smile back.

Luke was alive. Goosebumps appeared across my arms, every single time the possibility crossed my mind.

"Percy, wait up!" Annabeth caught my hand before I could enter the sword Arena.

Ever since the war ended, the monster count had decreased and Chiron was a lot more flexible about ordering us to train, but we still practiced in the sword arena just for fun and to stay in tune with our swords. The sounds of Clarisse and Travis- two of the few people who had managed to come back out to camp this winter- dueling inside the arena echoed outside.

Annabeth put her hands around my neck. "I haven't gotten to talk to you all day, Seaweed Brain."

"I know." I let her forehead touch mine.

Behind us, a couple of Aphrodite campers came walking by. They were probably trying to be quiet, but we could hear them mumbling "Awww" amongst themselves, as they passed. According to the Aphrodite Cabin, Annabeth and I were the 'cutest couple' around camp.

Annabeth smiled, as she pulled away. "You busy right now?" She asked.

"Not really."

"Good." She took my hand and began dragging me towards Half Blood Hill. "I have border patrol duty," she explained.

Another good thing about being at camp while things were quiet was getting to spend time with Annabeth, without the usual interruptions.

We sat down side by side on the grass, leaned against the trunk of Thalia's tree. Watching over the borders wasn't the most exciting job in the world, so we usually went up to Half Blood Hill together to keep each other company.

Peleus the dragon was rolled up to the side, dozing off peacefully.

"You know, Thalia might be coming to visit with the hunters for winter solstice this year."

"Great." I mumbled.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "What? You don't want to see Thalia?"

"No, it's not Thalia who I'm worried about." I said, "It's pretty much all the other huntresses. They hate me."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "The huntresses hate all men."

"Yeah, but they could at least cut me some slack for practically rescuing their godess from chains."

Annabeth sighed the way she always did when she thought I was being stupid.

"And besides," I said stubbornly, "They almost convinced you to join them. I can't forgive them for that."

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth mumbled, a small smile forming on her lips. "I was never going to join them."

"You thought about it." I accused.

"But, I didn't join them, did I?" She leaned into my arm, "Besides, it would be way too boring if you weren't around being stupid all the time."

"Nice to know that my _stupid-ness _entertains you." Annabeth laughed at that, and that more she smiled; the less I wanted to tell her about my dreams. I didn't want her thinking about Luke and worrying for no reason.

The sun was hidden behind the thick winter clouds and snow was spread out across the grass far outside the camp borders.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked me suddenly, "You seem kind of serious today."

"Yeah," I tried to sound normal. "I'm fine."

"Percy..." Annabeth was studying me.

"What?"

"You would tell me if anything was bothering you, right?"

I stared at her. "Nothing's bothering me, Annabeth, I swear." As soon as I said it, I realized how half hearted it sounded. The truth was that I was still avoiding all the things I had seen about Calypso and Luke, but flashbacks kept popping into my head, no matter how much I tried to put it off.

"Are you stressed about your mid-terms for school?" Annabeth pressed on, completely unconvinced.

I shook my head. Her gray eyes were staring right through me and I felt my body loosen, the way it always did when Annabeth and I had eye contact for an exaggerated time.

"Is it..." Annabeth spoke again, ready to take another guess.

"It's nothing." I said. "Honestly."

Annabeth stared at me and I suddenly felt guilty. Then, I felt upset that I felt guilty. I mean, it wasn't necessarily like I was _hiding_ anything from her.

"Alright," Annabeth said, dropping the subject. For a second, a small glint of trust sparkled in her gray irises and I couldn't help but make a silent promise to myself. I was going to tell Annabeth about what I had seen, but not now… definitely _not _now, while everything was going perfect.

***

That evening, before the camp curfew, Chiron had called me and Annabeth into the Big House to speak.

He gave us the type of news that I didn't even want to consider.

"It seems as though things are getting bitter up in Olympus." Chiron told us.

Annabeth sighed, "Are the gods arguing again?"

Chiron nodded grimly. "Though, I fear it may be an argument specifically between...Lord Poseidon and Lady Athena."

I blinked, "What?"

"Now that the war is over," Chiron explained, "your parents seem to have begun focusing on your…relationship." He told us about the recent statements Athena had made, which had angered Poseidon.

It was Annabeth's turn, "_What_?" She leaned forward like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "_That's_ the reason they're fighting? I can't believe my mother would-"

"I understand this may not seem fair," Chiron said, sighing. "But, Athena has delivered her statement: she does not _approve_ of Percy."

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Hopefully this wasn't a _completely _failed chapter. Please let me know what you think! With school going on and the stress of homework, it's getting harder to update but I promise that each and every review I receive will motivate me to keep writing! Please review! ^_^


	3. I Regret the Distrust

**Another chapter! Again, I would like to apologize for the slow updates. Since school is well into its fourth week and I've begun to get settled in, I think I've figured out a few ways to find time to write. So hopefully I'll be able to get back into my regular pace of updating very soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please read and review!**

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My nightmares were getting worse and worse.

On top of that, I had the gods to worry about, now. Poseidon and Athena were arguing over my relationship with Annabeth.

Matters hadn't gotten far enough fto start a war or anything yet, so Annabeth and I decided not to concentrate on our parents for the time being.

There was absolutely no way the gods were getting between me and Annabeth, and that was about the only thing I was confident of. I wasn't going to let it happen.

As Chiron had advised; my prayers went out to fate and with any luck that I had left, the gods would work things out amongst themselves.

Other than all the things going on with our parents, I also had my dreams to juggle around in my head. Days were passing, but my nightmares showing me the tales of Luke weren't getting any better. The more I tried not to think of them, the more they kept popping up into my mind, uninvited.

I sat alone at the table claimed for Poseidon at dinner that evening.

A flashback seemed to shoot through me like electricity as soon as my fingers wrapped around my glass of water.

_"It's alright!" Calypso said gently. _

_Luke's body shivered against the icy rocks. "The pain..." he mumbled absently, "His soul...The light exploding..."_

_Calypso put her fingers to Luke's face. She began humming lightly, and her voice seemed to dissolve into Luke's tensed body. "The scythe..." Luke continued murmuring incoherently, "killing him..."_

_"Shhh," Calypso touched his forehead. His body seemed to relax slowly at the sound of her words. _

I shook out of my thoughts, realizing that I was zoning out.

Grover came over to sit next to me, and for a while I managed to focus on other things.

"Um, Grover," I said interrupting him. "We kinda _eat _with those things."

"Huh?" He glanced down, realizing that he had been chewing on a spoon. "Oh. Sorry,"

"What's up, G-man?"

He told me the latest news about all of his troubles involving Mr. D and how the god of Wine had decided to order the Satyrs on duty to look after the hunters when they came to visit this winter.

"I thought you said that the hunters look _'dreamy'_."

"That was before I knew Juniper!" Grover yelped.

I held up my hands, "Alright, sorry!"

Grover sighed, putting his head down on the table. "Today's been horrible." He mumbled, and I couldn't help but agree.

As dinner ended, I found myself heading to see the only one person who I really felt like talking to. The one person that could make me feel okay.

***

A small girl- about seven or eight year's old- opened the door when I knocked on the doors of cabin six.

"Uh, Hi..." I said, "Is-"

"You're here for Annabeth." She stated as a matter-of-fact.

I nodded, smiling. For some reason I couldn't help but compare the young girl to the way Annabeth might have looked when she was seven.

"My name's June," She said taking my hand unexpectedly and guiding me inside the cabin.

I followed her unsurely, stepping over piles of books and paper work on the floor. The place wasn't crowded like it usually was during the summer, but there were still campers spread out everywhere.

"Annabeth's right over there." She continued, leading me towards the back of the cabin where Annabeth stood over her bunk.

"Percy?" Annabeth looked up, slightly surprise rimming her face. "What are you doing here? Curfew's in thirty minutes and you know how Chiron feels about-"

"I know." I said, "Relax, I'll be outta here before then."

"Bye Percy!" June said suddenly, and I realized she was still right next to me. She let go of my hand before skipping off.

I looked back at Annabeth. "How'd she know my name?"

"Oh, um..." She trailed off and I suddenly got the feeling that Annabeth just might have talked about me in here before. "Well you _are _Mr. popular-prophecy-guy around camp." Annabeth said, "Everybody knows your name."

I put on a skeptical look and Annabeth smacked my arm playfully. "What are you doing here, anyway?" She said, leaning over to straighten out her bed sheets. "I have to get this place cleaned up before the lights go out."

I nodded, "Need help?"

She glanced at me, "Yeah… hand me that book over there."

"This one?" I reached down to pick a text-book sized novel off the ground. The cover had a picture of a snow covered oak tree on it, and suddenly a flash back zapped through me like a current starting at my finger tips and making its way straight to my brain.

_Luke leaned on Calypso as they made their way through the open snow. With every small step into the four inches of slushy ice, Luke bit back pain. His body looked as if it would fall apart any second, and it was almost like Calypso was wholly dragging him behind her through the snow fall._

_"Just a few more feet." Calypso said, gathering breath as she helped Luke kneel down to rest. "We're almost there."_

"Percy!" Annabeth snapped.

I zoned back in, immediately handing the book to Annabeth. "Here,"

She studied my face, before taking the book from my hands. "I'm worried about you." She mumbled just barely loud enough to hear.

"What?" I blinked, "I mean...why?"

"Percy..." Annabeth let out her breath, "There's something you're not telling me."

I stared at her.

Annabeth touched my arm and ran her fingers down my skin till her hand intervened into mine. She gently pulled me down to sit beside her on the edge of her bunk.

She was looking at me like she expected me to talk and something about the look in her eyes drew the words right out of my mouth. I trusted her, and I was done holding back.

"Dreams." I mumbled, exhaling.

Annabeth stared at me. "What?" She said quietly, "You told me you didn't have strange dreams anymore."

"I know," I said. "I haven't for a long time. It's just that...since last week..."

"Dreams about what?" Annabeth asked quickly, like she was afraid something would interrupt us. She lowered her voice. "Not about… _Kronos_, right? "

She glanced towards the front of the cabin for a second where all the other campers were occupied with their own lives. Her eyes fixed back on me when I knew she was sure that no one could hear us.

"They're about..." I hesitated, "Luke."

Annabeth didn't bother to hide the sudden concern on her face. "_What_?" Her body stiffened. "What did you see? Where-...what are you talking about-"

"Annabeth," I stopped her. "Don't wor-"

"No, this is important to me, Percy." She looked absolutely dead serious, like she could have murdered someone if she didn't find out every last detail about what I had to say. These past months, with Luke out of the picture and Annabeth completely relaxed, I had almost forgotten how defensive Annabeth could get when it came to Luke.

"I don't know if it's even real." I told her, "They could just be stupid dreams that don't mean anything."

"Tell me," she said. "Please." And the last thing I wanted to do was keep anything from her. I mean, she was my girlfriend after all, but trying to explain my dreams about _Luke _felt impossibly difficult.

"I don't know," I said, letting out a breath. Her eyes were deep, and I told myself that she deserved to know."It's just this strange dream I keep having about Luke's body lying somewhere in the mountains, and there's this girl who's helping him and taking care of him, and...He's alive."

Annabeth didn't speak. She looked as if the weight of the sky was on her shoulders all over again. For a second, I didn't understand it, but then I thought about Annabeth and how distressed she had been over Luke's disappearance. She always wanted answers, and now things were starting to make sense.

"And, the girl in my dreams was..." I waited for Annabeth to look at me. "Calypso."

"_What_?" Annabeth spit out. "How can-...That's impossible-"

I told Annabeth about what I had seen these past days about Calypso attempting to heal Luke, and promising to slowly bring him back towards camp.

Once I had finished practically narrating all my dreams to Annabeth, she stared at the floorboard under her bunk. I knew she was thinking.

"This could mean that...maybe Calypso was traveling, and she found Luke and..." Annabeth thought out loud, her brain calculating all sorts of different possibilities. "But, how could Luke have made it there...how could he..."

"Annabeth," I said. Something about the sudden hope in Annabeth's eyes was really getting to me. I didn't want Annabeth to get her hopes up for Luke. "They were just dreams. They might not even mean anything."

"You're dreams always end up meaning something." She argued.

"Yeah, but, this is different. Luke already died-"

"He faded." Annabeth snapped. "He didn't _die_."

"Fine," I said. "He _faded _into ashes, Annabeth. He can't be alive-"

"No, you don't get it, Percy. Luke is-" she stopped in frustration.

"Annabeth-"

"Percy, how could you not tell me about this before?"

"I didn't want you worrying,"

"_Worrying_?" Annabeth echoed, "If you told me about this before, maybe I wouldn't be so worried."

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, okay?" I said noticing the depth in her eyes, "I just didn't know what to think of it, and I didn't want _you_ to start worrying and thinking about all this."

"You didn't want me thinking about what? _Luke_?"

"No-"

"I can't believe that you felt like you couldn't tell me."

"I didn't tell anybody!"

"Yeah, but you could have told _me_, Percy."

I suddenly felt a cold rod poking my heart. "Look...I'm sorry." I said, unsure of what to say. Annabeth had never acted like this before, and I didn't get why she had suddenly gotten so worked up. She just wasn't acting like herself.

"Percy..." Annabeth turned her head and stared at the alarm clock on her bedside table. The campers were beginning to get near as they prepared for bed.

"Annabeth," I said, "I swear, it wasn't like I was trying to hide it from you or anything, I just didn't want to-... Look, I told you now, didn't I?"

From next to us Annabeth's alarm clock beeped. She bit back a curse in frustration. "Curfew," she muttered.

As the head cabin counselor, Annabeth stood up and announced lights out. Then, she followed me to the door and slipped outside of the cabin with me for a quick second.

We stood on the steps and when I really looked at her face in the moonlight, I realized that she didn't look angry at all- she looked helpless and scared.

I touched her hand, and her eyes clicked into mine. "Don't worry about it." I whispered.

She wrapped her fingers around mine. "I know that. I just wish you would have told me before."

I didn't say anything, letting the silence soak up my thoughts.

Around us, more cabins went pitch black as the lights clicked off. I felt like Annabeth had a thousand questions she wanted to ask me, but both of us knew we had to get to our cabins before we got in trouble. Annabeth spoke, "Percy, we have to tell Chiron about this."

"Annabeth, no-"

"Please." The look in her eyes made me shut up. "Promise me that we'll tell him."

I thought about what it might have felt like for Annabeth to suddenly find out that I had been seeing visions of Luke's present condition, after she had set her heart set on the fact that he had disappeared for good.

Telling Chiron would mean getting more answers, and getting closer to Luke.

Part of it may have been guilt for making Annabeth feel like I didn't trust her enough to tell her sooner, but standing right there on the steps of Cabin six, I promised her.

Annabeth leaned forward and I held the weight of her thin body against mine for a second, not wanting to let go. She pressed her lips to my cheek before whispering, "Thank you."

A shiver went down my spine, and I leaned forward for one last kiss before she slipped under a dark shadow and vanished inside the shady folds of her cabin.

* * *

**I hope this turned out okay. ^_^ I'd really appreciate your thoughts and opinion on whether or not the characters are IC. I'm still working out a few plot line problems and trying to gain inspiration, but I promise to do my absolute best to update as soon as I can. Please review!**


	4. I Regret the Same Memories

**Hey guys! You haven't forgotten about me, have you? I know it's been forever and I'm incredibly sorry, but you can blame my school for that. Its winter break now and I'm going to try and see if I can pick this story back up and get it going. Another reason for this update is to see if this story still has any readers. :)**

**If you forgot what's happening, here's a quick recap: (_Story 1_: ) Percy makes a wish that leaves Calypso standing infront of him. Eventually the war comes to an end with a victory and Percy and Annabeth sort things ou between them. (_This story:_ ) The winter of next year, Percy and Annabeth are visiting camp for break. Percy confesses his dreams and visions-about Luke's body being found and taken care of by Calypso- to Annabeth.**

**I really, really, hope you like this chapter! ^_^ (Thanks to Miz636 for the beta job.)**

* * *

"I see," Chiron sighed, staring down at the smooth black surface of the ping pong table.

If it had been up to me, I would have been tucked under the covers and peacefully dozing off, but considering the fact that I had a determined girlfriend like Annabeth- she had managed to drag me down to the Big House to consult matters. Annabeth had insisted we tell Chiron about my visions of Luke, no matter how much I tried to talk her out of it.

So there we were; sitting around the Big House's meeting table late that night, a little after curfew (Chiron had made the exception to hear what Annabeth found so important to discuss.) I had explained my dreams about Luke and Calypso, while Annabeth sat apprehensively fingering her Camp necklace.

Chiron stared down once I had finished, and even though he tried to sound calm, I could easily read the distress in his timeless eyes.

"Chiron," Annabeth spoke, slicing through the silent tension that had filed the room. "This could mean that Luke really is alive."

Her eyes were filled with hope, and a strange feeling kept on slamming through my chest. It was a feeling that shouldn't have been there.

Chiron nodded silently, still in obviously deep though.

It might have been my ADHD, but I couldn't stay still just sitting there anymore. I drummed my fingers on the table, "Or..." I said, "It could just be a stupid phase of dreams that don't mean anything."

Annabeth stared at me like _whose side are you on? _"Percy, how could you say-" She begun heatedly, but Chiron interrupted her.

"That could be possible," Chiron said thoughtfully, "they might as well just be dreams. The war has had a great affect on you, my boy," Chiron told me, "and it may be normal for you to be dreaming of leading events after the scene that your mind has made up."

"But, what if they're not _just _dreams?" Annabeth argued.

"We must hope what is best for our camp, child." Chiron looked at Annabeth meaningfully, "The return of Luke would mean..."

"Mean what?" Annabeth said, standing her ground.

"Well," Chiron shifted on his wheel chair, "it wouldn't be _natural_, for one thing. Luke has already disappeared. It could mean another imbalance of fates and another saga of mishap for our camp."

"I understand that," Annabeth said, "but if Luke really is out there, we can't just sit around. He could be hurt right now. We need to help him!"

"Annabeth, what if Luke is still influenced by Kronos?" I spoke, "If we get him back, it's not like he's going to want to stay in this camp. He'll want revenge."

Annabeth stared at me, her eyes were unreadable. "You're wrong, Percy. Luke was never evil," she said, "he was under Kronos' presence, and now Kronos is gone."

"So what if he does come back?" I continued, knowing in the very back of my mind that Annabeth was on the very edge of her patience, "Do you think all the campers will welcome him back like he never did anything wrong?"

"They'll learn to forgive him." Annabeth said steadily, and I couldn't believe how unreasonable she was being.

"They won't forgive him-"

"No, Percy," Annabeth said, putting her hands on the table, "I think it's just you. _You _can't forgive him. You don't want him to be alive, is that it?"

Her eyes were stormy, the type I hadn't seen in a while now. I felt sore memories of Luke and Calypso from last summer rising back to the surface.

"Luke is the enemy."

"Kronos is the enemy." Annabeth said, "Luke's the victim."

Chiron spoke, interrupting us, "We don't know for sure if Percy's dreams are valid. It is not best to jump to conclusions."

Annabeth tore her eyes away from the table in frustration. "But, we have to do something! We could...try to contact Calypso, or consult the oracle, or at least alert the gods, or-"

Chiron sighed, giving into Annabeth's breathless demand, "If at the best... I can consider notifying the gods tomorrow morning. This could be a serious matter that needs careful handling."

I suddenly felt a darkening shadow crawl through me, and a strange memory from last summer popped into my head. When Luke had kidnapped Calypso last year, Chiron hadn't bothered to alert the gods or anything.

I couldn't stop myself when I said, "Why? We're not even sure yet if my dreams are real. Chiron, you said that they could just be stupid visions about things that have been on my mind lately."

"I am aware of that," Chiron said, "But Annabeth has a point, my boy. It won't do us any good to ignore them."

I exhaled, and realized that Annabeth was staring at me. She stood up from the table, and spoke before heading out of the Big House without looking back, "Nice to know that Calypso's been on your mind lately."

***

That night my dreams didn't show me any mercy.

_Calypso helped Luke make his way across the lightly snow covered rocks. I could see a silver van parked somewhere in the distance, along with other signs of civilization. A signboard that I couldn't' quite make out clearly, was engraved in the rocky ground. Luke and Calypso had made it out of the mountains. _

_A shady man with proper winter gear appeared in front of Calypso. His uniform made it obvious that he was some sort of a park ranger. "Excuse me, do you need help miss? Is this young man hurt?" He gestured towards Luke. Calypso stared up at the ranger, and the scene shifted. _

_The next time my vision steadied, Luke was leaning heavily on Calypso as they walked through a somewhat crowded street. Friendly looking people surrounded them, minding their own business. _

_Calypso managed to stop taxi by the curb. She helped Luke's crumpled body inside before getting in and shutting the car door; locking the frosty winter air outside. _

_The cab driver, with messy hair and a chewed up toothpick in his mouth, looked bored as he glanced back. _

_"Long Island, New York." Calypso told the driver causing his jaw to drop; the toothpick falling out from between his teeth. _

_"New York?" The driver raised his eyebrows, as if he hadn't heard properly. _

_Calypso nodded. _

_"Do you have any idea how far that is-"_

_"We have money." Calypso said calmly. The driver seemed to think for a second before his snaky eyes landed on Luke, observing his condition._

_"Is he gonna be okay?" He stuck a finger at Luke- dry blood on his torn clothes, and scratches across his pale skin. _

_Calypso touched Luke's arm and secured his seat belt. "He's going to be just fine."_

_The driver seemed to grunt, still eying Luke suspiciously. _

_" Now, if you will, please." Calypso gestured for the man to drive. "To New York, "she repeated, and then in a softer voice that only Luke could hear, "to Camp Half Blood."_

I woke up, feeling short of breath. The gurgle of my fountain in the corner sounded far away, and something about the dim light in the room made me want to get out of the cabin.

I sat up on my bunk trying not to think of the dream I had just seen. My thoughts led me the very next important thing that was a burden on my mind: Annabeth.

After she had walked away from the Big House, last night it was too late to follow after her; knowing that she had slipped into her cabin where the rest of the campers were sleeping.

That morning, before breakfast I caught up with her outside of the Dining Pavilion.

She stopped in her tracks to look at me. "Hi," She said casually, and I got the hint that she was dismissing our conversation last night.

It wasn't like Annabeth and I hadn't had stupid fights before, but now that things between us were going steady, it was so much easier to say exactly what I wanted to. Like every other teenaged couple, we had fights, but we always found a way to put stupid arguments behind us and make up.

I stepped forward and hugged her. "Good Morning."

For a while, we talked normally without having to bring up Luke, but I couldn't help but notice how distracted Annabeth was acting. She would stare off into the distance, wearing the same look that I knew meant she was thinking.

"You okay?" I finally asked.

"Yeah," She looked back at me, "Why?"

"Annabeth, listen," I stuffed my hands in my pockets, cautiously bringing up _the topic_, "About last night…I didn't mean to say that Luke didn't deserve a chance. I just…care about you, alright? I don't want you to-"

"I know," Annabeth nodded once, saving me from any further explaining. She brushed a curly blonde streak of hair behind her ear. "I didn't mean to walk out of there like that."

I almost got lost staring at her. It wasn't like Annabeth to ever take back her words or actions (it was her fatal flaw after all), and I had gotten used to compromising with her because of it. This was something new.

The negative feelings inside me were fading, and Annabeth and I sat down on a nearby picnic table on the fields. Her fingers got tangled in mind, and she was telling me about the Satyrs cleaning out cabin eight in preparation for the hunters arriving soon. As we talked, and the sun hid farther and farther behind the thick winter clouds, and our conversation found its way back to depressing matters.

"I had another dream last night." I told her.

I saw the same concern that I was dreading crawl back into her eyes. "What was is it about?"

I opened my mouth to talk, but no sooner than I had gotten to speak a single word; we saw Grover charging towards us.

"Guys!" He yelped, panting desperately when he stopped in front of us, a worried expression on his face.

"Grover!" Annabeth touched his shoulder, steadying him. "What's wrong?"

"Luke...outside of the borders...and he just appeared!" Grover said incoherently.

My eyes met Annabeth's in a sudden wave of confusion and alarm.

I looked back at Grover, beating Annabeth to it. "What are you talking about?"

Grover caught his breath, trying to form words. He seemed to stutter before he could finally get the words out. He finally spoke clearly, "Someone spotted Luke outside of the camp borders."

"_What_?" Annabeth was the first to react, pure panic spread across her face. She started forward, not bothering to wait for us, "_Where_?"

The three of us ran faster than we ever had to the camp's border line. A group of campers stood in the distance, seeming to be surrounding something. My heart pounded, and I doubted that Annabeth was doing any better.

Once we had finally managed to push through to get in front of the crowd, every single thought in my head seemed to stop at the sight in front of me…

It was Luke. His body just like I had seen in my dreams. He laid on the ground in an unconscious state, and then I realized that Calypso was there too. Luke's head was in her lap, and she was trying to shake him awake.

More thoughts clicked and I jerked my head up to at Annabeth. She was frozen, her eyes wide and glassy. Once she finally seemed comprehended the scene in front of her, she kneeled to the ground by Luke's side. Her voice cracked, "Luke!"

* * *

**I hope you liked that, and I would love your opinion on it! Also, if you're a reader who is still interested in this story, please just drop by a quick word so that I know I still have an audience who I'm writing for.**

**Hopefully, if I get some feedback, I'll update soon. ^_^ Please review!**


	5. I Regret the Distance

**Hey everyone! I think I've finally got this next chapter together and I really hope you enjoy! **

**As always, thanks to Miz636 for the great beta job and plot suggestions that are applied in this chapter! **

**Read, review, and enjoy! ^_^**

* * *

Fate hated me.

After the war I thought I had my life figured out and that, just for once, maybe I could get a break. But, here we were, staring down at Luke's crumpled body after he had just appeared out of nowhere.

When Luke and Calypso had suddenly shown up, the campers began talking; pure confusion and alarm iced through the air. Clarisse barked orders to keep the campers under control, while Chiron found the courtesy to move Luke into one of the Big House's healing rooms on Annabeth's demand.

If you asked me, Luke didn't even deserve to be put on a bed. We still couldn't trust him, but here we were; Annabeth stood by the bed side, towering over him in concern and shock.

"He's-He's hurt," Annabeth mumbled, her voice quavering. She looked up at Chiron urgently. "We need to help him! _Please_."

"Hold on, child," Chiron seemed to be studying the scene in deep thought.

"He's close to dying! Please, just heal him," Annabeth implored, and I felt my chest getting heavier and heavier.

Annabeth locked eyes with Chiron, and an understanding that I didn't quite understand passed between them. Chiron seemed double minded, but he stepped forward to observe Luke's condition.

He placed his hands above Luke's chest, and I recognized it- a form of Chiron's special healing.

Behind me, Grover squirmed on his hooves uncomfortably and I stood absolutely still as we watched Luke's body being healed- his fingers relaxing, his cuts retrieving, and his breath deepening.

Annabeth put her head down on the side of the bed, whispering in a single breath, "Luke." Her eyes were shut like she was praying, and I felt so focused on the little things that Annabeth was doing, I barely succeeded to acknowledge that Calypso was also in the room.

For a second my mind flashed to the fact that I hadn't seen Calypso in nearly a year and I realized that exhaustion and scratches were marked all over her pale face.

My thoughts scrambled quickly- focusing back on Annabeth. Her attention was permanently devoted to Luke, and a strange flicker of agitation was starting to burn up to the surface inside of me.

Grover tugged on my arm nervously, and I felt numb.

It might have been only few seconds later or minutes later when Annabeth finally stood.

She stood gathering herself, and then slowly turned towards Calypso. "How did this happen?"

Calypso took a breath, looking pretty overwhelmed, "I…I'm not sure how he-"

Annabeth cut her off eagerly, "I mean, where did you find him?"

"I-I was traveling. It was freezing, and I found him… Just lying in the snow-"

Annabeth snapped, "Why didn't you contact us?" Her voice was one of accusing.

I didn't know where it came from, but I realized that I was beginning to voice my thoughts. I spoke, "It's not her fault."

Annabeth looked at me, and I realized it was the first time that she had bothered to look at me since Luke had appeared. For a second, she was quiet.

"I didn't mean to-" Calypso begun, "I mean…I tried contacting the camp, but there was no way I could-"

"Still," Annabeth mumbled, "you should have got help."

I felt a million thoughts stirring inside me. "She got him to camp, Annabeth. What else did you want?"

"Getting him to camp wasn't enough, was it? Luke is barely alive-"

"Annabeth, my dear," Chiron interrupted, "we can't take back what has been done."

Annabeth let out a breath in frustration.

"However," Chiron continued, looking at Calypso meaningfully, "You must tell us; how exactly did you manage to arrive here?"

Calypso started immediately, explaining herself as if she was being accused. "I was just passing, and I heard a voice…it was almost like screaming, and-"

"Um, guys," Grover shifted from next to me, "Can we please discuss this somewhere else?" He was staring at Luke's body nervously. "You know…I mean somewhere where guy who's supposed to be dead isn't around…"

Chiron sighed.

***

"…and I healed him as much as I could. When he was conscious, he would talk about Kronos and a _golden light_. I'm not sure what he meant… but he seemed scared. I-I helped him walk, and then we found help. One of the park's workers helped us into the city, and I got some money. I didn't know what to do…he was hurt and I couldn't take him to a mortal hospital. We took a cab from there and used the money we got …and- and we found camp." Calypso finished.

I felt like Calypso had just recited a full script of everything I had already seen in my dreams.

Chiron nodded slowly, his hands resting on top of the table that the four of us had gathered around. "But…I don't quite see how this could be possible," Chiron said. "How could Luke have gotten there in the first place?"

"His body _faded," _Annabeth reminded us, "so maybe he just needed to… reform."

We stared at her.

I spoke, my words coming out rougher than I had meant, "Annabeth, what are you talking about?"

"It's possible, Percy," She snapped. "Maybe he just needed to be somewhere cold…even colder than New York, so that his body could reform."

She was thinking hard, her brain calculating all sorts of possibilities and I almost would have let my ADHD distract me with the fact that she was looking seriously beautiful in deep thought if she hadn't had been talking about Luke.

"I don't know how that could be…but considering that the unbelievable is in front of us…" Chiron said absently. "Annabeth may be right."

"It doesn't matter how he got here," I said, realizing that my whole body was tensed. "Luke's here and that's not going to change."

"This is bad…"Grover muttered.

"Kronos is gone," Annabeth said sharply. "Luke was once our friend, and he isn't under Kronos' influence anymore!"

"How do you know that?"

She looked at me, "Because I just know, Percy! Okay?"

I held her eyes. A glassy ring of coldness rimmed her deep black pupils. They weren't the same eyes I had been looking into for the past couple of months since we had gotten together. My chest tightened.

"Guys," Grover yelped nervously. "Stop fighting!"

Annabeth looked away. "We're _not_ fighting."

Chiron cleared his throat. "We can only hope that Luke has truly been freed of Kronos. Until then…I believe Annabeth is right; Luke was once a camper here and a hero. We must wait and see what this brings."

I tried not to feel agitated. It was suddenly like Luke had never joined the Titans or tried to take down the gods.

"What are we going to tell everyone else?" I asked.

"I'm afraid the campers must be aware," Chiron's eyes hardened. "We must tell them that after having thought him dead for good, Luke has returned."

***

It seemed like every time Annabeth and I had tried to talk the next couple of days, the discussion of Luke would come up and it always left both of us feeling angry for different reasons.

As frustrated as I felt about everything, I found myself constantly worrying about Annabeth too. There were times when our eyes would meet and all I would want to do was hug her.

The tension was unavoidable, but that didn't mean we could stay away from each other either. These past days, it felt like Annabeth had my mind every second of the day and I just wanted to be with her.

Right before breakfast one morning, a time when both of us weren't doing anything, I caught up with her by the woods.

"Hey," I stepped forward and kissed her on the lips.

Her eyes were shining when we pulled away, and it was something I hadn't seen on her face in a while. "What was that for?" she asked.

"What?" I put my arms around her. "Do I really need a reason to kiss my girlfriend?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling as she pushed me away and I could have sworn I heard her mumble something about a "Seaweed Brain."

Things were calm as we strolled along the edge of the forest together and I noticed that Annabeth was absently staring at the Big House in the distance.

"Hey," I waved my hand in front of her.

"Oh," she focused. "Sorry."

Something told me not to ask what was on her mind. I couldn't help but notice how distracted Annabeth was acting nowadays and I hated seeing her like this.

She fixed herself, focusing to tell me about her talk with Thalia last night. "She'll be here with the rest hunters in just a couple of days."

"That's great."

"I know. I haven't seen her in months."

I nodded. "So…did you tell her about-" I stopped myself.

Annabeth ran her hand through the leaves or a tree nearby. "No...I didn't tell her about Luke yet."

I looked at her, "Why not?"

"There wasn't any point in getting her worried over it last night." Annabeth told me. "Besides, she'll see it for herself when she gets here."

"Yeah." I tried to think about how Thalia would react to seeing Luke alive, healing in the Big House. He hadn't gained conscious yet, though Annabeth had told us that she would constantly find him mumbling things about Kronos and a light.

Last year, when Luke had supposedly died- although Thalia wouldn't let it show- it had shaken her up pretty bad too.

"So…" Annabeth's voice took me out of my thoughts. She started a new conversation, "You know… Christmas is coming in just a week."

"Oh yeah," I remembered. "I need to call my mom about that. The last time I was talking to her, she was thinking about planning something so that you and I could celebrate it back at my apartment."

I had expected Annabeth to be excited to hear this, but I didn't exactly get the reaction I was hoping for.

"Oh," Annabeth nodded. "But, Percy, we would have to leave camp for that."

"I know…that's the point." I said, "We could get a break from camp for a while and spend Christmas…you know, together."

"That sounds great, Percy…" She gave me a weak smile. "But, we can't just leave camp anytime soon."

"Why?"

"You know that things are really complicated at camp right now. I mean, we can't risk being away. What if something happens while we're gone?"

There it was again: the dreaded topic of Luke.

"Just because things are bad right now, it doesn't mean we have to be here every second, Annabeth. Chiron's handling everything."

"Yeah, but-"

"Besides, what's going to happen while we're gone?

Annabeth didn't even need to think. "What if Luke gets sick? Or what if he wakes up while we're not here?"

As I stared at her, the conch sounded- alerting us for Breakfast.

I tried not to let it get to me, but I couldn't help but realize what Annabeth was really saying. She would rather spend her Christmas sitting by Luke's side to take care of him, than spending it together with me- an opportunity for our first Christmas together.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Hey, let's go to Breakfast."

Annabeth seemed to realize what she had said. "Percy, wait. That's not what I meant… I'm just saying that it would be better to spend Christmas at camp. I mean, that way we don't have to worry about anything happening here, and we'd still be together, right?"

I tried not to feel annoyed. "Yeah, you're right. Besides, Christmas is a week away. We can worry about it later."

"Yeah," Her eyes were studying me. "Okay."

* * *

**I really hope this turned out well! I'm dissapointed to say that my school is opening up in a few days and updates will be harder, but Ill do my very best. Please review so I know that you guys are there. ^_^**

**As an extra, here's a very small preview of some of the things that are to come in the next chapter: **

_Annabeth pulled her hand out of my grasp. She ranted, "You and Calypso obviously get along with each other. She makes you laugh…and feel good… and- and you don't have to worry about anything when you're with her-"_

_"Annabeth, why the Hades are you talking like this?"_

_"It's the truth, Percy." Her voice was cracking and her eyes were glassy, threatening to shatter any second. "Maybe…maybe I'm just holding you back."_

**Happy New Years! Review, please?**


	6. I Regret Seeing What Had Been Locked Up

**Hey guys! I'm back with a new chapter! I feel like this might be kind of a filler, but I think it was necessary to confront some of the things going on with Annabeth. I hope you enjoy!**

**Beta credit goes to Miz636.**

* * *

Another day had passed and I was seriously beginning to worry about was going on with Annabeth. She seemed to be busy and distracted all day and I hadn't even seen her once.

That night as I walked back from the Dining Pavilion with Grover after dinner, he was grumbling about the satyrs having to clean our cabin eight for the arrival of the hunters.

"So what, man?" I tried to cool him down, "It will all be worth it when Thalia's here, right?"

Grover sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

The evening was dark; stars were already glancing down through the layers of sky.

"Hey, dude did you talk to Juniper?" I asked remembering that Grover had told me about his troubles with his girlfriend lately.

Grover bleated, "I tried, Percy, but she's just getting worse. All she wants to do is sit alone next to her plant."

"Maybe she just needs some space, G-man. You know she can't ignore you for too long. She'll come around."

Grover blushed. "I hope you're right."

"Have I ever not been right?"

Grover gave me a crooked grin, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

I punched him lightly, "Whatever, dude."

"What about you?" Grover asked me, "Did you say 'I love you' to Annabeth yet?"

"No…" I admitted. "I haven't even thought about that for a long time now."

He practically shrieked, "Why not?"

"Grover, I want to tell her but everything's messed up right now. I'm waiting for when she's really listening to me, you know? I mean, since Luke's been here she's been really worried and stuff."

"Yeah…" Grover nodded. The sympathetic look forming on his face told me that he was reading my emotions. "But, she'll get over it, Percy. I've known Annabeth since she was a little kid and she's been through a lot with Luke."

The last thing I needed was someone reminding me exactly how much of a history Annabeth and Luke had, but I listened quietly.

"All she wants is for Luke to get better like he was before."

"I know." And the more I thought about it, the more I understood where she was comming from. At the moment, I just wanted to comfort her."Hey…where do you think she is right now?"

"She said she was going to check on Luke one last time before going to the stables."

I nodded. "Alright, I'll see you later, G-man."

He waved me a bye as I ran ahead to find Annabeth.

***

On my way, as I passed by Thalia's pine tree I noticed that some of the Aphrodite campers had placed decorations on it. I wondered exactly how Thalia would react to the bright ornaments hanging off her tree, but even she couldn't deny the slight spirit of Christmas it brought to camp.

Looking at the shining star at the very top, I tried to think about how my mom had decorated our tree this year. I remembered my conversation with her this morning.

_"Percy!"My mom's cheerful face appeared through the Iris message. "Honey, how are you?"_

_"I'm fine." I spoke over the noise of the television playing in the background of my apartment. "Where's Paul?" I asked, noticing that she was alone in the kitchen._

_"Actually, he just left a minute ago to go pick up our tree." She told me. I had been hoping to avoid the topic, but my mom seemed to jump right to it: "So, we'll be seeing you and Annabeth here for Christmas, right?"_

_"I don't know, mom." I tried to sound casual, "I'll let you know in a few days."_

_I tried not to notice her smile wither. "But, honey, I thought we had it planned already-"_

_"I know." I cut her off. "But… mom, we can't just get up and leave camp whenever we want."_

_"It's for Christmas, honey. I'm sure Chiron would understand why you guys are leaving-"_

_"Yeah," I nodded, "I'll try to work things out."_

_She studied my face the way she always did when she knew I was holding back. "Percy…" She spoke, "is everything alright at camp?"_

_I sighed. The last thing I wanted to do was share the things going on at camp with my mom, but I couldn't hide it from her either. I told her the short form: Luke had somehow been found and he was resting at camp. _

_Worry began drawing on her face, and I promised her that it wasn't a big deal. Luke wasn't any threat to us and we could handle it. _

_"And…" My mom said, "What about Annabeth? Is everything okay between you two?"_

_"Mom, seriously you don't need to worry." It came out rougher than I had meant, but I really didn't need to tell my mom every detail about my life. _

_She was unconvinced, but I was secretly thankful that she backed off. "Alright, Percy," She said, "So see you for Christmas… _maybe_?"_

_I nodded, "_Maybe_. But, mom if I can't…then-"_

_"I understand." My mom said. "At least you'll be at camp with Annabeth. You can still give her that gift you bought her."_

_I realized that I had completely forgotten about that. My eyes shot over to my backpack resting on a chair in the corner of my cabin, where a small box sat wrapped inside the bottom of the third pocket. _

_My mom smiled and said her good bye. _

I zoned back into reality, realizing that I had reached the Big House door.

Pushing all the thoughts about Christmas and dissapointing my mom out of my head, I entered the Big House in hopes to see Annabeth. Even though things were rocky, it seemed like just a single look at Annabeth could make me forget everything for a second before real life hit me again.

But, when I stepped inside I was surprised to see that it wasn't Annabeth, instead it was Calypso standing by Luke's bedside.

She looked up when she noticed me. "Oh…Percy, it's you. Hi,"

There were so many things going at camp and with Annabeth that I hadn't even thought about talking to Calypso since she arrived.

"Hey," I walked over to her. "What are you doing here?"

Calypso looked back to Luke, resting on the bed in front of her.

His face was pale and his scar made him look weaker than ever. I would have felt bad for him, but at the moment I had no sympathy.

"I…just wanted to make sure he was alright."She said.

I nodded.

Calypso touched Luke's forehead the way I had seen her take care of him in my dreams, and then we quietly headed outside.

The main room in the Big House was empty, and Calypso and I sat down on across from each other on the meeting table.

"So, how do you like the Hermes Cabin?" I asked, remembering that Chiron had offered to let her stay there since there was no designated cabin for her.

Calypso smiled, "I like it. I wish I had gotten to see the cabins last summer."

"No you don't, trusft me." I told her, "In the summer, the Hermes cabin is crowded with new campers. You don't wanna be there."

Calypso smiled, and we caught up.

She told me about all the places she had traveled to and how it was great to see the real world. She even managed to discover some of her family that had survived the wipeout of the Titans up at Mt. Tam. Calypso looked exactly the same from the last time I had seen her, but there were new cuts on her skin that hadn't healed yet from her trip bringing Luke up to camp.

As we talked, our conversation slowly shifted back to serious matters.

"Calypso, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it, my brave one?"_ My brave one;_ The old name zapped back memories through me.

I focused. "When you found Luke… why did you help him? I mean-"

"He was hurt."

I stared at her, "I know…but, even after everything he did last summer? He kidnapped you and then threatened to kill you, remember?"

She looked down, "Yes, I remember."

"Then what made you help..."

"I don't know, Percy. When I found him…there was just something that wasn't right. He didn't look like the same person who could have done anything wrong. Last year…those weren't Luke's eyes."

I looked at her, trying to understand exactly what Calypso was thinking. She had gone through so much trouble to save Luke's life, and now she had been spending a lot of time in the Big House caring for him. I wasn't sure why, but the thought was beginning to bother me.

I flashed back to the memories of Ogygia and last year at camp when Calypso had told me she loved me, and I wondered if everything had been washed out of her just because of Luke- a person she didn't even know. Would she start calling him _Brave One_ now?

"I know that it was a risky thing to do…" she spoke, pulling me out of my thoughts. "But I couldn't just leave him there."

I nodded silently.

"I can imagine that it must have been really sudden… I mean, me showing up at camp with Luke."

"No, actually… it wasn't so sudden." I told her everything about the dreams I had been having.

"That's an amazing gift, Percy." she spoke when I was done.

"What is?"

"Your dreams, I mean. In a way they're useful; they show you exactly what's happening."

I realized that I had never thought of it that way. I had always thought of my dreams as a curse, but Calypso was right- they had always been useful. I thought about the time Annabeth had gotten kidnapped during our third quest and how they had showed me where she was, or all the times they gave me a glance at what my prophecy would be like- choosing between Annabeth and Calypso.

A shiver ran through me and I changed the topic. "So…you were traveling around Canada when you found Luke?"

She nodded, "I was passing by the coast of the mountains up there…and I found him."

"Grover was talking about sensing half bloods around there." I remembered.

"He could sense us from so far away? That's incredible."

"Yeah, well, Grover's one of a kind."

She laughed.

Things had gotten so complicated at camp these past couple of days that it just felt nice being able to talk to someone without worrying for a while.

I hadn't seen Calypso for a year and so there was surprisingly a lot to catch up on. We found ourselves laughing over something, and I was so distracted that I didn't notice the door opening behind us.

Annabeth had stepped inside, and she stopped when she saw us.

"Annabeth…Hey." I straightened up. "I was looking for you."

She seemed to stare at us for a long time before speaking, and I knew that walking in to see me and Calypso sitting together and laughing didn't look good.

"Were you?" Annabeth said quietly, and I sensed the sudden accusation in her voice. "Because it looks like you guys were having a great time alone."

"What?" I stood up, "Annabeth, no, we were just talking about-"

"Whatever, Percy. I'm not in the mood right now." She turned around. "You guys have fun."

She began walking out, but I had noticed the crack in her voice.

I mumbled a quick _sorry _to Calypso, and followed Annabeth outside, calling after her.

I caught her hand by the strawberry fields and she finally stopped; turning around abruptly. She looked me in the eyes, "_What_?"

I felt like reality caught up with me. I had been trying to deal with everything, but now with the thought of Annabeth mad at something so stupid, I felt like I had reached my limit.

I held her hand tightly, trying my best not to be angry, "What did you mean by _'it looks like you guys are having a great time alone'?"_

"You know exactly what I meant."

I stared at her, disbelieving of what she was trying to say.

Though she sounded frustrated, looking back into her gray eyes she looked so fragile- like so many things were piled on top of her that she was just ready to let go.

Annabeth pulled her hand out of my grasp. She ranted, "You and Calypso obviously get along with each other. She makes you laugh…and feel good… and- and you don't have to worry about anything when you're with her-"

"Annabeth, why the Hades are you talking like this?"

"It's the truth, Percy." Her voice was cracking and her eyes were glassy, threatening to shatter any second. "Maybe…maybe I'm just holding you back."

"Annabeth." I grabbed her shoulders. "Annabeth, stop. How could say that?"

I didn't know what was making Annabeth act this way or what was really bothering her, but at the time all I could think about was Annabeth questioning our relationship. I felt like a fist was closing around my heart.

"Percy-" her voice quavered and she took a deep breath. "Percy, maybe we-"

"_Stop_," I nearly shook her. "Annabeth, do you think this year together with you hasn't meant anything to me?"

Our faces were barely separated by an inch and tears rimmed her eyes.

I touched her face, "Who cares if Calypso makes me feel _good_? It's nowhere near the way you make me feel."

Annabeth was silent.

I held her eyes. "You're the only one I care about, Annabeth. I'm not thinking about anyone else, okay? You're just…you're not making this easy for me."

Staring back at me, she did the thing I expected least. A tear slipped from her eye and she let herself lean forward. I held the weight of her body in my arms. She was trembling.

"Annabeth…" I ran my hand through her hair. We had been through everything together, but she rarely ever let this side of her show. The side where she kept all her hurt locked up from years ago and the hurt from now that was catching up with her.

"I'm sorry-"She choked, trying to stop herself.

"Hey, it's okay." I said gently, "Why are you sorry?"

"Because…- _Percy, I trust you_." She said profoundly, "And I know that… I'm not being easy for you to deal with. It's not fair that you have to put up with-"

"Annabeth, no. You're fine." I said, holding her tightly. "You're not being difficult for me."

She gathered her breath again to speak, "Luke is back and-" her voice broke.

I held her tighter; Luke's name sparking dread inside me.

She tried speaking again, "He's back…I don't know how to feel, Percy."

For a second, I tried to understand exactly what Annabeth was going though. Everything that was going on had really shaken her up. "Hey it's okay." I whispered into her hair. "I get it."

I wasn't sure if she was holding back her tears or not, but standing there with her in my arms I let her escape away from the world for a while like she could under her invisibility cap. It was just me and her. The moon was peeking at us from behind Half Blood Hill and I held her.

***

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**I really hope you liked this! The next chapter will defenilty be picking up again with the plot, and Thalia will finally arrive to add on to the drama. ^_^**

**Review!... Please?**


	7. I Regret Delivering the News

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait in getting this chapter up! It was a pretty tricky one to start writing and once I had it done, I had to wait for it to get beta'd and a bunch of other things. But, anyways, here it is! I really hope it turned out well!**

**As always, thanks to Miz636 for the excellent Beta job!**

* * *

Annabeth's eyes glowed, the way I hadn't seen them for while now.

She gripped my arm when she saw me staring at her. "What is it Seaweed Brain? Look! They're coming!"

In the back of mind I realized that the hunters were probably filing into camp- marching straight up Half Blood Hill in their silver parkas, bows drawn down, and led by Lady Artemis herself- but at the time all that mattered to me was Annabeth smiling.

When Annabeth caught me staring at her for the second time, she punched me.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That was to get the kelp out of your head, Percy! Look- Thalia's here!"

As Annabeth started pulling me towards the heart of camp, I got my first view at the hunters. They had finally arrived, standing tall and proud as they were greeted by Chiron and the surrounding campers.

Through the crowd of huntresses, it was easy to pick out Thalia. She was wearing her signature black eye liner, but besides that, she was the only one giving me her famous death glare as we approached.

Thalia untangled herself from the rest of the huntresses to come towards us.

"Thalia-" Annabeth started, but she walked right past Annabeth to stand face to face with me.

"Um...hi?" I said, trying not to back up from the murderous look Thalia was giving me.

"What did you do to her, kelp-head?" Thalia asked me furiously, pointing towards Annabeth.

As confused as I was, I spoke in attempt to change her intentions which were clearly of killing me. "Thalia, isn't this where you try to be nice to me for the first five seconds because you haven't seen me in practically a year?"

"Shut up, Percy. Tell me what you did to Annabeth to make her-" Thalia's face scrunched up in disgust as she tried to gag out the next few words, "to make her... _date _you?"

I smirked slowly, "Nice to see that you're totally okay with me and Annabeth going out."

"Gross!"

"You know, Thalia…" my eyes fell on the rest of the campers and huntresses that were now staring, "you're kind of making a scene."

Ignoring me, Thalia turned towards Annabeth for the first time. "Annabeth! Is he being serious? Are you actually dating this _Seaweed Brain_?"

Annabeth's mouth that had fallen open through all this, slowly formed into a smile. She stepped forward, giving Thalia a hug. "It's nice to have you back, Thalia."

***

That night, after the huntresses had settled into Cabin eight and completed all of Lady Artemis's arrangements, a camp fire was held in honor of their arrival.

Everything was going so well- the Apollo cabin led the sing along, the satyrs found pleasure in chewing down on the plastic bags from the marshmallows, and the Aphrodite cabin kept trying to convince the huntresses of love- that for a while, I completely forgot about Luke being alive and breathing in the Big House just a few feet away from us.

Darkness set in, making the stars brighter and the dancing flames in the campfire were beginning to tire.

Thalia, Annabeth, Grover, and I found ourselves staying seated as Chiron made one last announcement to conclude the night and the crowd of half bloods and satyrs cleared out.

We rearranged ourselves to get comfortable on the wooden log seats.

Thalia took a deep breath. "So…let me get this straight," she said. "You guys are seriously dating?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Get over it, Thalia."

Thalia looked at Grover for support, "Am I the only one that finds this completely insane?"

Grover chewed on a twig, "No. It took me months to get used to it."

Thalia sighed in defeat. "Fine, whatever. But, I still don't know what you see in Mr. kelp-head over there." She said to Annabeth.

I glared at her, but this time Thalia just rolled her eyes.

Annabeth laughed, "Don't worry, Thalia. I'm keeping Percy tied up really well. He doesn't have any time to get away from me."

Thalia smirked, "Good."

Grover gave me a sympathetic look, "Wow, Percy, these girls have seriously got you on a leash."

I sighed, "Tell me about it."

The seconds we talked and laughed slowly flew by in the shape of hours. Grover's eyes were getting droopy, and Annabeth and I weren't doing any better. Thalia on the other hand, was wide awake like it was completely normal for her to be up at dawn, and I wondered exactly how much sleep Lady Artemis let the huntresses get.

Thalia spoke, "You know…earlier today, I saw that girl."

Annabeth yawned. "What girl?"

"Calypso, I think. Didn't she leave last summer?"

Annabeth and I exchanged glances.

"Yeah…she did. But, she's just back to visit for a while," Annabeth lied.

Thalia's question seemed to knock the sleepiness right out of us and I knew what Annabeth was thinking: Thalia had to find out somehow; either we told her or she wandered into the Big House by herself.

"Oh." Thalia nodded. She smiled at Annabeth playfully, "So…you're okay with Percy's ex-girlfriend visiting?" Thalia was joking, but Annabeth didn't laugh.

I shifted uncomfortably, "She's _not_ my ex-girlfriend."

Thalia might have noticed Annabeth's sudden silence because she decided to drop the topic.

Afterwards I kept trying to meet Annabeth's eyes but she wasn't looking my way.

When Thalia and Grover were engaged in a conversation, I poked Annabeth's arm. I whispered, "What's wrong?"

Annabeth looked at me, taking a second to focus. "I was just thinking…" She glanced at Thalia, lowering her voice below a whisper, "When she finds out about-"

"I know." I mouthed. "You should tell her before someone else does."

I could see a shadow concern begin to move in on Annabeth face. "No…we should wait."

"Wait for what?" We realized that Grover had decided to zone into our conversation.

Thalia was staring at Annabeth. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "Everyone at camp is acting strange."

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia sighed, "Lady Artemis and Chiron had a long meeting today. Both of them told us that it was about really serious news they would announce later."

When neither of us said anything, Thalia narrowed her eyes. "You guys know what it is, don't you?"

"Thalia-"I started.

"What is it? Did something happen at camp?" Thalia pressed, and the look in her electric blue eyes made it clear that she was determined to find out.

I looked at Annabeth. If anyone was going to tell Thalia about Luke, it had to be Annabeth. After all, Annabeth was one person that Thalia wouldn't immediately think about murdering after hearing the abrupt information from.

Annabeth sighed, "Thalia, it's not good news. Maybe you should just wait till Lady Artemis tells you-"

But when Thalia continued pressing, Annabeth almost brought Luke's name to her tongue.

"It's about-" she stopped herself.

"Thalia," Grover was chewing down to the root of his twig. He said in attempt to help Annabeth, "Do you remember last summer...during the war when Luke died-"

"He disappeared," Thalia cut him off. "He didn't…die. His body would have been there, otherwise."

I felt my blood turning cold. What Thalia had just said was exactly what Annabeth had kept in her mind all this time in hope of Luke.

"You're right." Annabeth spoke. Her eyes were fixed on the dry dirt beneath our feet. "He never died. He just faded."

Thalia was stiff. "Wait. Do you mean…" Her eyes hardened. "Luke was spotted somewhere?"

"It's worse than that." I mumbled.

Annabeth said quietly, "Thalia I don't know how you're going to take this."

"Tell me."

Annabeth was staring at the ground and I couldn't see her face. "That girl…" Annabeth spoke, "Calypso. She found him."

I kept looking at Thalia. I didn't know why, but maybe I was searching for some kind of expression from her. But, Thalia's face was emotionless; iced over as steady as glass.

"Oh," Was all she said.

"There's more." Annabeth said steadily, "When she found him…his body was in a really bad condition."

I nodded, "He was barely alive…" I said absently, remembering a vision of him from my dream, "Calypso helped him."

"She _helped_ him?"

"Thalia," Annabeth spoke, "she brought him to camp."

Silence had settled in around us and the air was undeniably thick with dripping tension.

Thalia said, "_What_?"

Annabeth took her eyes off the ground to meet Thalia's. Annabeth repeated, "She brought Luke to camp."

"_He's here_?"

Annabeth nodded.

I kept waiting. Maybe I expected Thalia to be shocked or at least a little bit shaken up. Maybe I expected anger for her, anger accusing us for not telling her earlier. I might have been waiting for denial. For excessive questioning until she knew everything. I was waiting for a_nything _from her_._

But, Thalia was as still as one of Medusa's statues. The glowing moon was making her face look pale. She didn't say anything.

"Thalia?" Grover peeped.

Thalia took a breath. "Where is he?"

"He's unconscious," Annabeth told her. "He's resting in the Big House."

She nodded.

"Do you want to…?" Annabeth said, "Do want to go see him?"

Thalia sighed, "No. What's the point of going if he's unconscious? To stare at him?"

"Thalia, don't you care if he's okay?"

"That's not my business." Thalia said causally, "But, if he wakes up and tries to pull something, then I'll be happy to help straighten him up. It actually might be fun."

Annabeth stared at her, "And what if he is straight when he wakes up?"

"Then he can go on living a good or crappy life for all I care, whichever one he prefers."

"Thalia this is serious." Annabeth pushed, "Don't you know what it could mean?"

Thalia looked up for a long time. She was staring at the sky. It was letting streaks of orange peek through as dawn was drawing.

"Did we really stay up this late?" she mumbled. "It's morning."

"Yeah…" I spoke. "We should get some sleep before the camp's bell wakes us up in a couple of hours." I didn't know what made me change the topic, but something about this whole thing was seriously beginning to make me nervous. I didn't know what it was, but looking at Thalia…it was like something was making me flash forward to the future, and it wasn't a good feeling.

"Yeah," Grover said groggily, backing me up. "Breakfast is barely in four hours." He stood, stretching.

Annabeth was still looking at Thalia as if she was trying to read her mind. I knew that there was a lot in Annabeth's head that she wasn't saying.

I stood up, holding out my hand for Annabeth. "It's late. Come on."

"Technically it's _early_, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth sighed, taking my hand and I was secretly happy that she decided to drop the topic with Thalia.

The four of us stood there for a second.

Grover saluted a sleepy goodbye and disappeared into the forest. Annabeth gave Thalia a hug, "I'll see you tomorrow."

After Thalia had disappeared into the early morning darkness, Annabeth and I went around the lake, taking the long way back to the cabins.

She was so distracted the whole way, that she barely even noticed when I slipped my hand in hers.

"Hey," I stopped her once we got to the cabins. "What are you thinking?"

"Percy," Annabeth let out a breath of frustration, brushing back a strand of hair. "I don't know why Thalia acted like that. I mean-"

"Acted like what?"

"Like she didn't _care_," Annabeth said. "Doesn't she know that this means we could get Luke back... the old Luke? The one that was her friend."

"Maybe she doesn't want him back."

Annabeth looked at me.

"I mean…" I said. "She hasn't seen him for years, Annabeth. She probably just doesn't want to deal with all this crap again."

"Yeah, but still… how could Thalia say-" Annabeth stopped herself in frustration.

"Just let Thalia take this news however she wants, Annabeth. I mean, if Thalia isn't completely freaked out about this, then that's a good thing, right?" I told her. "You can't make her care if she doesn't want to, you know?"

Annabeth let out a breath. "Yeah, I guess," she mumbled. "But, this…this just isn't like Thalia."

I didn't know what, but something about Annabeth's stubbornness made me smile. "Hey, don't worry about it." I took a step closer to her.

Annabeth focused. "Alright, Seaweed Brain." She leaned forward, touching her forehead with mine.

"Promise me you'll try to sleep, okay?"

Annabeth smiled, "Okay."

She moved back, ready to leave, but I held her there.

"Hold on," I said, "You're still planning to lie awake all night trying to figure things out, right?"

Annabeth was staring at me, the streaks of dawn were making her face glow. "How do you know that?"

I smiled, "Promise me you'll try to sleep."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I promise."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed that! ^_^ Thalia's character was tricky to write, but I hope I did her justice.**

**If I keep getting days off from school thanks to the amazing snow days and if I don't get too caught up in the hype of the movie coming out in just nearly 4 more days, then I promise to do my best to update!**

_** Please **_**Review! It would make my day. :)**


	8. I Regret Witnessing the War Within Her

**Hi guys! I'm so sorry for taking forever to update. School was devouring me. And on top of everything, the PJO movie definitely consumed my brain for a while. I honestly had to detach myself from the PJO world for some time to think and take in that movie... (You can read my movie review on my profile.) **

**But, anyway, thanks to Spring Break, I was able to post up this chapter! ^_^ I hope you like it! Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

As much as I hated to admit it, things at camp had gotten a lot worse.

By this time, the news of Luke had spread all across camp. Every whisper in the forest or mumble in someone's ear was about Luke. I tried not to pay attention to the tension in the air, but it was undeniable.

It was like camp was holding its breath.

I tried to be with Annabeth during any free time I could get, but I knew Annabeth could sense the tension too and Thalia's behavior wasn't helping it. I saw her smiling less and less. She was beginning to worry.

The more I thought about it, the angrier it made me. There were only a few days left before Christmas and this wasn't what camp was supposed to feel like. The decorations on Thalia's pine tree had seemed to have lost their glow, and the feeling around camp just wasn't right.

Annabeth would sit at Luke's side. Sometimes I would catch her talking, mumbling prayers- hoping for Luke.

She would shut me up every time I tried to talk about Luke. The silence between us had become to feel like a regular thing. The only thing I could do was hug her, without saying a single word; just letting her know I was there.

One look at Thalia would tell that she wasn't bothered by any of this, but I knew her better. Thalia hadn't spoken of Luke since the night at the campfire. I would see her walking to the dining pavilion or cabins the long way around camp; making sure she didn't cross the Big House. She was avoiding it.

On the other hand, there was a person who I felt like I was ignoring too: Calypso. Knowing that Annabeth was on the edge, I didn't want to create any other misunderstanding by talking to Calypso. The last time I had spoken to her, she had been just as worried about Luke as Annabeth.

It made me wonder sometimes. Calypso had devoted so much to heal Luke and bring him to camp safely. She had spent time with him, time that I hadn't seen in my dreams. But, then, I would reassure myself- telling myself it was nothing. Calypso was just helping.

Calypso was spending just as much time as Annabeth with Luke in the Big House. I didn't know who she prayed to, but she kept hope for him. Calypso told me that she could have sworn she heard Luke talking one day in the Big House.

As scary as it was, Luke was getting better. Chiron said it was only a matter of time before his spirit and body would settle and he would begin to wake.

That afternoon, knowing Annabeth was in her cabin catching up on her architectural work and would most likely murder me if I interrupted her train of thought, I spent my evening sword training.

I was on my 25th target when Thalia stepped in.

It was about to be dinner time, and all the campers were supposed to be in their cabins getting ready for inspection. The arena was dim and empty.

"Hey," Thalia walked over to me. "Are dummies getting too easy for you?"

I pulled riptide out of my target's chest: a straw dummy.

She pushed up her sleeves, "Need a real opponent?"

I smirked, "_You_?"

In Thalia's hands, her tin can transformed into a spear. "What's the matter? Don't want to fight after the last time?"

We positioned ourselves face to face in the center of the arena, and I remembered three years ago when Thalia and I had sparred out at camp.

"You're on." I said.

Thalia jabbed forward and I dodged. We went on, sword against spear. Every sound our weapons made when they clashed echoed against the arena's ceiling.

Thalia was able to keep up. She matched my sword play perfectly, but it was easy to tell that she had lost practice with her spear.

I sidestepped and attacked from her blind spot.

She cursed. "You're lucky I'm not using my arrows on you."

I caught my breath, "Aren't you supposed to be amazing with your spear? You said Luke could never beat you, right?"

Thalia's eyes sparked, like a flame had suddenly been summoned in them. I wasn't expecting it when she came at me, shoving me hard enough to make me lose my balance. I fell backwards to the ground.

She pointed the tip of her spear at my neck.

I surrendered.

For a second, Thalia stared at me, catching her breath. A lost look filled her eyes. But, then she slowly smiled in victory.

I didn't know what made me do it, but I attempted bringing Luke's name back in the air. "Wow, Thalia." I stood up, "If you could beat me while being out of practice with your spear, I feel bad what you must have done to Luke all those years ago."

I felt like Thalia was searching my words for traps. But, then she sighed, walking over to the bleachers. She said before plopping down, "Yeah, well, Luke always had it in for him."

I nodded walking over to her. "So, do you think you could still beat him? You know…if he wakes up."

Thalia shot me a hard glare. "The only reason I would fight him again, Percy, is to kill him."

I stared saying something but Thalia was angry now. She stood up abruptly, facing me. "I don't know what you guys are thinking, but Luke isn't going to get better. He's not coming back, Percy. He's going to be the same Luke wanting revenge."

"Hey, ok," I held my hands up in surrender, "I know that, Thalia. It's not like I want Luke to be here, either. But, Annabeth still thinks he has a chance."

Thalia turned her back to me, staring outside of the arena's single window in the corner. She was silent and for a second I tried to understand what she was thinking.

"So…you really don't have any hope for him?" I spoke, "I mean, Annabeth-"

"Annabeth was young, Percy," Thalia told me. "She only remembers Luke as the first person with warm eyes, someone who cared for her. We can't expect her to let go of that."

"And you?" I asked. "How do you remember Luke?"

"I don't know, Percy," she said, frustrated, "but I trusted Luke to take care of Annabeth. He let us all down. I can't forgive him for that."

I flashed back to a strange memory a year ago, shortly after the war when Thalia and I were saying goodbye.

_Thalia's voice sounded distant, "You know, Percy, sometimes I think-…I mean, I wonder what it would be like if…"_

_I saw the look in her eyes. "If…you hadn't had joined the hunters?" I supplied._

_Thalia looked hesitant. "Yeah. I mean…maybe I could have made a difference. I could have helped. Maybe…saved more lives."_

_Her eyes were fixed on Half Blood hill and as much as I hated it, I suddenly realized exactly what she was talking about._

_"Luke." I said._

_This time she looked at me like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to bring him up, "What?"_

_"You're talking about Luke."_

_She got a fiery look in her eyes as if she was daring me to continue, but she kept quiet._

_"Thalia, there's nothing you could've done. Luke wouldn't have been any different if you didn't join the hunters. You couldn't change him."_

_"I know that." She snapped. But then she took a deep breath. "I just…"_

_I watched Thalia stand there helplessly. I barely heard her when she said, "I feel like he's still here, standing in the air right next to me."_

_I didn't know if she was losing it, or whether she was really knew what she was saying._

"_Thalia…"_

_She exhaled, and straightened her posture, "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore."_

_I remembered Mt. Tam and the ring Luke carried with him, and the few stories I had heard about their journey together as children._

_I didn't know what I would've said but then Thalia shouldered her bag and looked in the distance, her eyes hard. "I'm a huntress, Percy."_

_I nodded. "Right."_

And here we were. Thalia and I standing in the sword Arena, while Luke was alive and breathing again a few buildings over.

"You said something," I said, remembering, "Last year…you said that you felt like Luke was still here."

I couldn't see her face, but the words were enough to make her shoulders tense.

"You were right, Thalia," I told her. "He really was alive."

Thalia exhaled as if she had been holding her breath. "You said that you had dreams, right?" Thalia asked. "About Calypso finding Luke. How much did they show you?"

I didn't know what made her ask, but I thought about it. "They showed me… Luke's body lying in the snow. Calypso would heal him and she carried him into the city. They got to Camp Half Blood boarding a cab."

Thalia turned around to face me. "I've had those dreams too."

I stared at her, "_What_?"

"My dreams have shown me more than that," Thalia told me. "I've been seeing Luke since the day after the war, right after he vanished."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"What was the point?" Thalia asked. "If I didn't believe them myself, then who else would believe me?"

"Thalia, you should have listened to them. If-"

"I'm a huntress, Percy," Thalia told me again like she had on that day. She looked at me, her blue eyes iced over as hard as stone.

For a second I understood what she meant. All Thalia was trying to do, the way she was acting, was just in effort to fulfill her hunters oath. She didn't want anything going against it.

I felt annoyed. Annabeth was so distraught over Thalia's behavior, and it wasn't even Thalia's fault. I felt annoyed with the hunters. I felt annoyed at Luke for causing all this. For a second, I even felt annoyed with the gods for causing Luke's anger in the first place.

"Still," I said, averting my eyes from her stare, "you should have told someone. We could have found Luke while he was still conscious - we could have gotten answers."

"And then what, Percy?" she asked. "What good what that have done? When Luke wakes up, he's not going to be different. He'll be angry at the gods and he'll find another way to get revenge."

I looked her in the eyes, "What if he is different?"

Thalia snapped, "I'm not living in Annabeth's world, Percy."

"At least Annabeth's standing up for herself." I didn't know what was making me angry, Thalia or the screwed up situation itself. "She wants Luke to be the same again, at least she's trying."

"She's wasting her time." Thalia's words were bitter towards Luke.

"Then why don't you go tell her that to her face, Thalia? Tell her that Luke doesn't care about her anymore."

Thalia stared at me.

I continued, "Annabeth needed you right now. You were the one person that could understand what she was feeling- someone that knew who Luke used to be."

I didn't know how this had all become about Annabeth, but I wasn't surprised. Annabeth as the only thing on my mind, whether I tried to deny it or not.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Thalia snapped. "_Act_ like I want Luke to get better, for Annabeth's sake?"

"What's wrong with you, Thalia?" I stared at her. "I know you don't want to deal with Luke and his influence from Kronos, but can you honestly tell me you don't want him to get better? Luke used to be your friend."

"Why do you care about that so much? Whether I want the old Luke back or not, what is it to you?"

"I don't care about him getting better," I said. "But, Annabeth does, and she needs you Thalia."

I expected Thalia to snap again, but something was holding her back. The longer I stood there in silence the more annoyed I was getting and I didn't understand it.

I let out a breath I realized I was holding and stared out the window behind Thalia- the sky was dark.

It might have been my ADHD causing me to move, but at that moment- after Thalia had lowered herself enough to speak of Luke, and after she trusted me with the secret of her dreams- I walked away. Leaving Thalia standing by the glass window, spear in hand, I walked out the arena. My last look at her- her eyes were hard, thinking.

***

Outside the air felt cold as I walked down the vacant camp field.

I suddenly felt guilty. Thalia was tied up in her own problems, and I had just blamed her for Annabeth's distant behavior. She didn't deserve it.

Then I felt angry. Thalia wasn't the reason Annabeth had become worse, it was Luke.

I felt like I was on the edge. I was losing it. Annabeth wasn't supposed to be so affected by Luke. It just wasn't supposed to be that way. Luke was a traitor.

I was so caught up with my heated thoughts that I didn't even realize someone was approaching me.

It was Annabeth. Her golden curls were tucked inside her navy blue sweatshirt and she looked distant.

I stopped in my tracks.

"Percy, where were you? Connor and Travis were looking for you for cabin inspection."

I stared at her for a second and the longer I did, the faster the frustrated thoughts kept going through my head.

I wasn't in the mood to talk. I nodded to her before starting to walk again, but Annabeth called after me.

"Hey, wait. Percy…" She touched my arm, and I knew she had caught a glance of the anger on my face. "What's wrong?"

The thoughts racing through my head were urging to voice themselves, and I knew that this was the worst possible time for me to talk to Annabeth.

I couldn't help it when I spoke. "Nothing," I said, "but it's nice to see you taking the time to come find me because other people sent you to."

"What? No one sent me to come and find you- _I_ wanted to find you."

The field was getting dark, and my throat felt dry. "Yeah, well, thanks." I said, "But aren't you supposed to be sitting with Luke right now?"

Her gray eyes turned harder, and she gave me a look like, _I can't believe you're starting this again._ But the spark of agitation that I was expecting wasn't there. Instead she was staring at me, searching my face, trying to figure out why I was acting like this.

We might have stood there, silent, for minutes.

Her hand fell off my arm, and I walked away from Annabeth too.

* * *

**Crossing my fingers, hoping that was good. Thalia and Percy's conversation was a little hard to write, and I hope it turned out good. Hopefully I'll have time to get started on the next chapter with Spring Break here, but your feedback is my true motivation. Please review! **


	9. I Regret Seeing Lifeless Blue

**Here's another chapter! After tweaking this a million times, it officially refuses to be changed.**

**I really, really, hope you like it and enjoy. Please read and review. ^_^ **

**Thanks to Miz636 for beta-ing and all the help. **

* * *

I sat in my cabin awake.

The lights were out and any signs of the night sky through my window looked like a foggy, pitch black.

Something about the night was making me seriously tense, and I couldn't sleep.

It might have been because half of my brain was throbbing, constantly reminding me of Annabeth. Through the past year, we had our share of insignificant arguments, but this was different. I couldn't even put my finger on the last time we had kissed.

I was thinking about her and the way it used to be like- before Luke suddenly showed up at camp - when I felt like I was in a half asleep state. My thoughts were drifting me off into dreams.

_My blurry image steadied until I could see a slim blonde girl leaning over the lake. It was Annabeth._

_The sun brightened her smile, and the emerald grass behind her was glowing green. Ripples floated across the lake's sparking blue surface._

_For a second, I felt like my mind was at complete ease. Annabeth looked the best I'd ever seen her- just because she was happy._

_I felt my dream self starting to approach her, but then in the distance someone else was already walking towards her; a tall looking guy with straight blonde hair falling into his eyes, a scar running across his left cheek._

_Annabeth rose to her feet, her smile more prominent than before. She ran into Luke's arms. He held her._

_I felt invisible. I wasn't in the picture._

_Annabeth looked safe. In his arms, she looked protected; innocent._

_Luke's face was a shadow._

_Then, suddenly, Annabeth's smiled vanished. Her face was becoming panicked._

_It was as if Luke was holding her tighter- crushing her. Her hair was tangled in his rigid fingers. She was in pain._

_In a half conscious state, I felt like my body was on fire._

"_Percy!" Annabeth said. Her voice came to me slowly. It seemed so far away; a whisper._

"_Percy!"_

_I heard a faint knocking sound._

"Percy!"

When I woke up, I was sweating.

"Percy!" The whisper that had woken me up came again. There was someone outside my door.

It took me a second to catch my breath and focus. I didn't let myself think twice about what I had just dreamt.

I threw on a shirt before opening the door as fast as I could.

Thalia stood outside in the darkness. The color in her face was drained. She looked pale.

"_Thalia?" _I started to say. "What happened-"

"Listen!" she whispered urgently, grabbing my arm. "I-I think Luke's awake."

"_What?"_

Thalia's face turned into one of panic. "Look, I just didn't know who else to come and get, okay? I think there's something wrong with him."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, starting to walk towards the Big House. Thalia mumbled the whole way there, saying she didn't know whether to get Chiron or not; she didn't know what to do. I was the only person she could think of getting.

Thalia and I threw open the Big House doors to race inside. When we got into the healing room, Luke was still there- his body helplessly supported by the metal framed bed.

I looked at Thalia, suddenly realizing that this was probably the first time she had ever been in here. She had been avoiding it all this time, and now she was here. This was the first time she ever really looked at Luke's face since he was back.

"Thalia?"

Her face was ashy.

"Thalia?" I said again, a little louder.

She nearly jumped, focusing back on me.

I stared at her, gesturing towards Luke. "He's unconscious."

Thalia looked back at Luke's face, and I was trying to read her mind. I didn't know what was going on with her.

"Percy, I swear that he was awake," Thalia said, backing away as if she were staring at a ghost.

"What are you talking about, Thalia?" I asked, trying my best to calm her down. "What happened?"

Thalia pointed to him. "He was- He was awake, Percy. I know what I heard."

"What are you saying, Thalia? What did you hear?"

"He was coughing," she told me. "I think he was trying to say something."

"Thalia, it's three A.M," I said bluntly. "Luke's not awake."

It seemed like no sooner than I had said that, Luke suddenly choked. He gasped for air as best as he could in between his coughs. His body began to tremble.

The last thing I ever would have done was help him, especially right after seeing a dream of him hurting Annabeth. But, during that split second, I went to him.

"_Luke?"_ I shook him.

His eyes were shut tight and he was coughing like he was choking. It was as if he was trying to breath but someone had their hands tightly around his neck, suffocating him.

I grabbed the water bottle sitting beside him. The only thing I could think of was to tilt his head back and pour the water in his mouth.

"Come on, Luke," I mumbled, "swallow."

He tried to take it in, and I was sure he could hear me. Then, he choked again and the water came spitting back out of his mouth.

Through the panic, Luke was saying something. He was mumbling a name.

"Thalia," I said. "He's saying _Thalia_." I looked back to where Thalia stood far away. "He's saying your name, Thalia!" I told her. "Say something to him."

She had backed up all the way to the wall. She stood frozen.

"Say something!" I shouted to her. "He'll hear you. I need you to talk to him."

She didn't move.

"Thalia!"

Luke spit up more water. His skin felt ice cold. He was shaking.

I looked at Thalia. "At least go get Chiron!"

Thalia stared at me, motionless.

"Get Chiron!"

Finally, something clicked. Thalia moved, urgently leaving to get help.

Right before I heard Chiron's hooves trotting down the hall, I could have sworn that Luke opened his eyes. They were a lifeless blue, and his voice seemed a thousand miles away. He asked, "Where's Annabeth?"

***

It seemed like a million hours later when Chiron wiped the sweat off his forehead. He exhaled, "That should do it."

I sat in the corner of the room, next to Thalia. We had just watched Chiron perform healing on Luke for the past half an hour. Slowly, Luke's body had finally relaxed. His temperature was back to normal and he was breathing again.

"Great," I said without emotion, standing up. "We can go back to sleep."

Chiron motioned us outside of the room before speaking. "You must tell me," He said. "What exactly happened?"

Thalia straightened up. It was like she was suddenly her old self again. She spoke, "I found him. I was just going to the bathroom, and I heard Luke coughing."

Chiron nodded slowly. "It's good that you two got me when you did."

"So…is he getting better or worse?" I asked.

"I believe this is a step closer to his awakening. He should gain conscious soon."

I tried to hide my annoyance, but it was obvious. "And that's a good thing?" I asked. "Luke waking up, I mean."

"He's getting better, my boy," Chiron told me. "It is quite possible that he will make a full recovery to his old self again."

"What about everything he did?" Thalia spoke, reading my mind. "Do we just forgive him and act like everything's normal."

Chiron sighed. "I'm not sure. We'll only be able to judge out next actions when he wakes up."

After Chiron told us to get back to our cabins, I stopped Thalia outside.

The early morning sun was peeking through the sky and Thalia looked the most distracted I had ever seen her.

"So what really happened?" I asked.

"What?"

"I mean…you said you heard Luke on your way to the bathroom."

She glared at me. "I _wasn't_ lying, kelp head. I couldn't sleep. So, I was going to Half Blood hill. I heard him talking when I passed, okay?" Thalia admitted. "The only reason I woke you up was because I needed help checking on him."

"Checking on him? You mean…making sure he was okay."

Thalia looked in the distance. "No, Percy," she said. "Not to make sure he was okay. To make sure he wouldn't wake up and make a run for it or try to pull anything."

I looked at Thalia for a long time, trying to figure out what was really thinking. I finally nodded, dropping it. "See you tomorrow, Thalia."

***

The next morning, I felt exhausted. Not because of all the sleep I had lost, but because it felt like Luke's voice saying _Where's Annabeth?_ kept repeating in my head over and over.

Something about it was just giving me a bad feeling.

Yesterday, I had walked away from Annabeth feeling like I needed time to think. Now, I was through thinking.

I wanted to go and tell Annabeth something that would finally get through to her, but when I saw Annabeth in the morning, something made me think it over twice.

I remembered the vision of her I had seen in my dream- how happy she looked before Luke had hurt her. I would have given anything to see her face like that again.

Annabeth was walking towards the cabins. Her arms were crossed loosely around her chest and her eyes were fixed on the ground. She was indulged in her thoughts, and I almost forgot how cute Annabeth looked when she was thinking.

"Hey," I whispered, without really realizing it.

I was sure she wouldn't hear me, especially while being in deep thought. So, it surprised me when she looked up.

When she saw me, I could have sworn she smiled. "Hi."

I went over to her.

Thick clouds laid out along the sky, outside the camp's magical sheild, blocking out the sun. It was getting colder.

"So you're talking to me again?" Annabeth asked.

My eyes locked into hers. "I never stopped talking to you."

"Well, you kind of ignored me yesterday."

"I'm sorry," I told her honestly. "I was just angry about something else."

She glanced at me. "About what?"

"Nothing. I was talking to Thalia and… "

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I knew you guys couldn't go two days without fighting."

Annabeth and I walked across Camp Half Blood's vacant border. Our conversation was dry, not daring to go past the surface. I had learned that avoiding Luke in our conversation just didn't work. Something was telling me that Annabeth trusted me and I shouldn't have been holding back.

"Hey, listen," I said, "I need to tell you something that happened last night."

"What?" Annabeth brushed her hair back. "You're okay, right?"

For a second, I realized that this was the first time in very long time that Annabeth had bothered to ask about me. But then I focused. "Yeah, I'm fine," I assured her. "But…It's about Luke."

She stopped walking dead in her tracks. Her hand flew to finger the camp beads around her neck. "What happened?"

I tried not to get wound up by Annabeth's sudden concern.

"Last night," I told her. "He woke up."

"_What_?" Annabeth's eyes widened. "What do you mean he woke up?"

"It's not a big deal," I said, brushing it off. "He was coughing and stuff. Then, we got Chiron and everything was fine."

"_We_?"

"Thalia and me."

Annabeth was staring at me like I had just dropped down from the sky. "What do you mean _it's not a big deal, _Percy? Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

"Annabeth-"

She cut me off. "Did he say anything?"

I looked at her for a long time, and Annabeth stared back. A million thoughts crossed my brain, and I lied, "No."

Annabeth looked completely worked up. "Well, why didn't you come and get me?"

"It was really late, Annabeth."

"I don't care!" she said. "You should have woken me up, Percy."

When I didn't say anything, Annabeth exhaled completely exasperated. She started walking back towards camp, but I held her arm. "Wait. Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going?" she snapped. "I'm checking on Luke."

A voice inside me was screaming. I could hear Luke's faraway voice repeating _Where's Annabeth?_ and the images I had seen in my dream of him hurting her kept playing back. Inside me, a flame was growing.

"Wait. Just listen to me," I said. "Annabeth, you can't keep checking on him."

Her eyes sparked. She challenged, "And why can't I?"

"Because Annabeth…" I looked away, frustrated. I mumbled, "It's not safe."

"What's not safe?"

"Just listen-"

"I can take care of myself, Percy," she said firmly. "You don't have to worry."

I stared at her. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm worrying. But, the last time I checked, we were kind of dating, Annabeth. I didn't know it was a crime to worry about you."

Annabeth glared in the distance, ignoring my sarcasm. She didn't speak.

"Okay, look," I said. "I'm asking you as a request, as your boyfriend. Can you please listen to me?"

"What request?"

"Just…please stop checking on Luke. You'll get to see him after he wakes up; after we're sure he's not dangerous."

Annabeth's looked at me like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to question Luke. "What do you think he's going to do to me, Percy? You don't know him!"

"I do know him."

"No you don't!"Annabeth's eyes were red. "It wasn't Luke's fault. Nothing was his fault. He was influenced."

"Annabeth-"

"You don't know him, Percy," Annabeth said, standing her ground. Her face went blood red and I hadn't ever seen her like this. "Luke was the only one who looked after me. He always cared. When he was influenced, I missed him, Percy. And this is the first time that he's in front of me while he isn't possessed with Kronos. Why can't you just let me be happy with that?"

The sky suddenly looked a million times darker through my eyes, and I felt like the temperature dropped below zero.

A long time went by before I spoke. I kept looking at Annabeth, trying to catch her eyes. They were fragile, threatening to shatter.

I felt like my throat was on fire. "Fine, Annabeth," I said. "But, just make up your mind. It's either me or Luke."

Annabeth looked at me like I had just yanked out half of her soul. A single tear slipped out of her eye.

"I can't believe you!" Annabeth said, pushing past me. That was the last time I saw her before she went to go see Luke.

* * *

**Spring Break is sadly over, and it's back to the stressful rhythm of school. But, I'm going to do my best to keep my updates consistent. And, your reviews are my main motivation to actually put school aside and begin writing. :) I hope you liked this chapter! Review! Please? ^_^ **


	10. I Regret Seeing It All Happen Too Fast

**Hi! I'm sorry for the wait in getting this chapter up! I'll get right to it: Thanks to Miz636 for beta-ing and hope you enjoy the chapter! ^_^ Please read and review! **

* * *

My life was officially screwed.

A billion feet above my head, my girlfriend's mother was arguing with my father over our relationship. It had already been bad enough just knowing this, and the last thing I needed was Chiron coming into my cabin earlier today to inform me that it had gotten a lot worse.

I groaned as I plopped down next to Grover in the dinning Pavilion that afternoon. The hall was empty and Grover took this time to sort out his tin cans for dinner.

I groaned again, louder this time to get Grover's attention.

"Did Annabeth ever tell you're really annoying when someone's trying to concentrate?" Grover said playfully, turning to acknowledge me.

"You're stacking up tin cans, Grover. I'm sure that needs a bunch of concentration."

Grover ignored my sarcasm.

"Besides," I added. "Annabeth's not talking to me right now."

"Really? The last update I heard, I thought you were the one not talking to her."

"We're both not talking." I clarified.

I didn't know when it started but it was true. Annabeth and I were avoiding each other. It was killing me, but I wasn't going to be the first one to apologize.

Grover shook his head. According to him, the argument between us was completely pointless. But then again, he wasn't exactly the one who was there to see Annabeth completely turning her back on me to sit around with Luke.

"She's worried about him." Grover said, reading my mind. "You have to cut her some slack."

"How much slack do you want me to give her, Grover? Am I just supposed to let my girlfriend sit around with some guy who tried to take over the world just because she _thinks_ she knows him?"

Grover sighed loudly.

It seemed like _nothing_ good had happened this entire week and Grover wasn't the only one tired of it. Then sitting there, watching Grover absently sort out his cans, I remembered back to the first weeks at camp when Grover told me that was having trouble with Juniper. It seemed like forever ago, and I suddenly felt guilty for being too tied up with my own problems to think about Grover.

"Hey, forget about it, man," I told him. "You haven't told me about Juniper yet. Did you talk to her?"

No sooner than he had opened his mouth to begin telling me, Calypso came through the doors of the dinning pavilion.

She was wearing a plain white dress extending down to her toes and she was breathing heavily.

Grover and I stood up in surprise to see her.

"It's Luke," she said immediately when she approached us. "Something happened. Chiron wanted me to come get you."

Grover and I exchanged glances.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"You'll see when you get there," Calypso promised. "Please, you have to come with me."

Grover and I started, following Calypso towards the Big House.

As we walked across the fields, I remembered Annabeth and the look of betrayal on her face when I hadn't informed her right away about something regarding Luke and I found myself saying, "Wait. We should get Annabeth too."

Calypso smiled. "She's already there."

It shouldn't have bothered me, but Calypso caught the expression on my face.

"I'm sorry about you two," she said genuinely.

I glanced at her. "Sorry about what?"

"Well, I heard about the break up," Calypso said.

"_What_?" I found myself stopping in my tracks. "What _break up_? Annabeth and I did _not_ break up. Who the Hades told you that?"

Calypso looked taken aback and I realized it had come out harsher than I had meant it to.

"Oh. I'm sorry…" Calypso spoke, stopping after me. "I had just heard from the Aphrodite cabin and… Sorry I didn't mean to-"

Before I could say anything else, Grover tugged my arm. "Come on guys," he urged, "we have to get to the Big House."

***

Inside, Annabeth sat on the edge of Luke's bed; her golden curls were tied up in ponytail. She didn't even notice the three of us enter the infirmary until Chiron welcomed us.

For a second, Annabeth glanced at me; her gray eyes glossed over with the millions of things going on at once. Then she turned her attention back on Luke.

Luke was sweating bullets. His eyes seemed like they were fighting to open and his skin looked like a deep shade of red. His breathing remained steady.

"He looks like he's just about to wake up." Chiron said and I felt needles poking at me. "I thought it would be best if all of us were here to witness this."

"You're sure he'll be okay?" Calypso asked, the sound of her voice making it obvious that she was worried. "I mean, he _will_ wake up, right?"

"I'm sure." Chiron confirmed. "It's just a matter of minutes before-"

Suddenly Annabeth whispered,_ "Shhhhh!"_

All of us looked in Luke's direction. His face had drained out from its deep shade to a normal color. His mouth was slightly ajar and his scar on the left side of his face looked fresher than ever.

I felt like all the next things happened too fast for my head to handle. Luke's eyes opened bit by bit, revealing complete blue irises. The first person he saw was the girl hovering above him: Annabeth.

Annabeth's eyes went wide. She absently stared back at Luke until his lips parted in an effort to speak. His voice was raspy, and he choked, "Annabeth?"

She looked as if the weight of the world was lifted right up off her shoulders.

"Luke!" Annabeth cried. "Oh my gods, I can't believe it's you." She leaned down, soaking herself inside everything that was happening at lightning's speed."Luke…" She hugged him tightly.

That's when my head found itself again and I moved without realizing it. As if it were my reflex, I stepped forward. I put my hand on Annabeth's shoulder, pulling her back. "Get away from him."

Annabeth seemed to realize all of us around her. A look of puzzlement spread on her face when she stared back at my expression. "What are you doing, Percy?" Annabeth said. "Look! Luke's awake. He's-he's back, Percy. Luke's back."

"No…" I tugged her lightly. She let herself come to me, standing up, and I moved her away from Luke. "Hold on."

Luke was still lying down, staring at all of us in bewilderment. "Where-" his voice croaked. "Where am I?"

His eyes caught sight of where Calypso who stood in the far corner and it was as if he was struggling to recognize her. "Who…?" Luke spoke.

Before Calypso could speak, I held my hand up. "Don't answer him."

I have to admit, I may have been acting slightly paranoid, but that's the way I felt. The only thing I cared about right now was my friend's safety.

Grover was reading my emotions, and I felt like he understood my concern about Luke being harmful. He gripped Annabeth's arm, nervously pulling her away.

Chiron made the next move, approaching Luke. "How do you feel?" Chiron spoke.

Luke adjusted his eyes. "I- I don't know…where am I? How did I get here?"

"Luke, you're alright. You're at-"Annabeth started saying, but Chiron motioned her to stop.

"What do you remember?" Chiron asked him.

For a second Luke looked as if we were speaking another language. But then he focused. "I don't-" he sat up as much as he could with the energy he had. "Kronos," he mumbled. "There was…there was a golden light. The pain...-"

"What _golden light_?" I spoke.

For a second, Luke focused on me. "Percy Jackson?"

"Answer the question, Luke."

"Look, I don't-" Luke stuttered, "….how did I get here?"

"Stop screwing," I told him. "There's no way you could have survived the war. What did you do?"

"What?" He held his head, as if it was spinning. "What are you talking about…"

"You know what I'm saying."

"I don't-"

"What did you do, Luke? How did you come back?"

"I don't know-"

Next to me, Annabeth was trying to speak. "Percy, why are you doing this? Stop."

I kept my attention on Luke. "What did Kronos do to you?"

A sharp look shot through Luke and it was obvious that the Titan lord's name brought him discomfort. "_Kronos_…" he mumbled, remembering.

Annabeth spoke again. "Percy! Stop it!"

"You were dead," I told him.

"What…what are you-"

"You died, Luke. How did you come back?"

"Stop it!" Annabeth shouted. "Leave him alone, Percy!" She broke herself out of Grover's grip to come forward. She stood in front of Luke's bed. "Leave him alone."

"Annabeth…" Grover peeped nervously.

Annabeth looked at Chiron. "Does he look dangerous to you?" she argued.

I began saying something and Annabeth snapped again, "He just woke up, Percy! Stop attacking him!"

Grover tried to help before I could retort to Annabeth, and suddenly we were all talking on top of each other. Luke stared in confusion.

"Alright-….Alright….Enough!" Chiron's deep voiceover lapped ours, succeeding to get our attention. "I am not surprised that Luke is unaware of the events he has undergone these past months. It was expected." Chiron told us.

Then he turned to Luke. "You are at Camp Half Blood. It was in your great service that we found your body and healed you. You can rest here." Chiron said firmly. "You must try to remember. Tell us everything; holding back won't do you any good."

Luke nodded. Everything had happened so fast, and Luke looked stunned, trying to take in everything that had just happened.

"Very well."Chiron said, motioning to us before leaving the room.

"Wait." Annabeth called, she desperately glanced at Luke one last time before following Chiron. She was unsatisfied with us leaving it at that.

Once their voices had faded down the corridor, I couldn't help but give Luke one last look. The guy who had betrayed all of us, trying to kill me at every chance he could get, was now recovering in our infirmary; my girlfriend down the hall trying to gain him more respect.

"I remember…" Luke spoke absently, brining me out of my thoughts. He was holding his head again as if it were throbbing. "I remember Thalia."

"_What_?" I spat.

Luke lifted his head to look at me. "Thalia." He said, clearer. "I remember her being here. Is she… Is she at camp?"

I remembered Thalia and everything she had said. I felt like I speaking for her when I said, "That doesn't concern you."

***

Outside, Chiron had his hand on Annabeth's shoulder and he was explaining something to her with the care that reminded me of a father. Annabeth was nodding quietly, and I forced myself to understand what she might have been going through.

"Hey," I said quietly, approaching them.

Chiron nodded to me.

I wanted to say something to comfort Annabeth, but I felt like anything I would say regarding Luke would just make it worse.

Annabeth brushed away any evidence of tears. "So…what happens now?" she asked.

"Yeah," I spoke. "He's awake. Shouldn't we inform Olympus?"

Chiron was brushing his beard. "Actually, I fear that it may not be the best time to bring these matters to the gods."

"Right," I mumbled, remembering. "Our parents…"

Annabeth glanced at me, "What?"

"Athena and Poseidon are still fighting." I told her. "...Over us."

Annabeth exhaled like this was the last thing she needed.

I nodded in agreement of the situation.

For a second, we stood in awkward silence. It didn't exactly help the fact that our parents didn't want Annabeth and me together when everything between us was tense and messed up. Something was crawling inside me; a fear of shattering things that had become fragile between us.

Chiron broke the silence, telling us not to worry. Dinner was in a few minutes and we needed to clear our heads. Luke needed to rest right now, and it would be best if we left him alone till morning.

Annabeth half heartedly nodded. She turned around, ready to see Luke one last time; just say one last goodbye till morning. He was finally awake again and within our boundaries; everything Annabeth had wanted since she was 12. It was exactly the desires the sirens had shown us; she wanted him back.

But then, Annabeth looked at me and our eyes clicked. I felt like my stomach did a summersault.

Instead of going to Luke, Annabeth turned back. She gave Chiron a final smile before walking straight out of the Big House, and that was good enough for me.

***

On my way out, I glanced back down the corridor. Through the cracked door, I saw Calypso kneeled down next to Luke. Grover had left.

Calypso was saying something to him in a whisper. When Luke spoke, the only part I caught was something along the lines of, "Thank you for helping me."

Calypso stared back at Luke for a minute. Then, she smiled. The angelic beauty, which the legends had recognized her for, lit up her face. She touched the scar on Luke's cheek, running her fingers along his face. "How could I leave you?"

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**Soooo...how was that? :) I really hope you liked it! **

**Also, I have a quick question for everyone. Which pairing do you find the best out of Luke and Thalia, Luke and Annabeth, or Luke and Calypso. I'm interested to here your opinions. ^_^**

**I'll do my best to update soon. Please review!**


	11. I Regret Letting Her Words Slip Away

**Hi everyone! I'm sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up. As you can probably relate to, the responsibilities of school are pulling me away. So, I'm sorry if I didn't get a chance to reply to your review individually! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, giving me their opinions on the pairings. I'm considering all sorts of possibilities, and keeping everyone's thoughts in mind when it comes to exactly who Percy and Luke will end up with. **

**I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to Miz636 for beta-ing, as usual. Please read & review. :)**

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"_He's awake?"_

I watched Thalia clench her fingers until they turned blue, her entire body stiffening.

"Yeah, he woke up yesterday, right before dinner," I confirmed. "I guess Chiron's trying to keep the news away from the hunters."

Thalia exhaled loudly. She mumbled under her breath, "This is _not_ good."

As she paced back and forth in front of me, I couldn't help but realize how much all of this was affecting her. I said, "I thought you didn't care?"

Thalia stopped to glare at me. "If you mean you thought I didn't care about _him_, then you're right. I don't care."

"Well, you're obviously not taking this well," I commented, realizing that Thalia wouldn't even allow Luke's name to her lips.

Thalia realized she had been pacing just a few seconds ago and she sighed, coming to sit down next to me on the picnic table.

We sat outside on the fields, and knowing that everyone was pretty much busy doing something else, I decided to give Thalia the latest updates with Luke.

"You're not thinking of the big picture," Thalia told me. "This could mean bad things for our camp."

I laughed dryly. "I am thinking, Thalia. I've been trying to tell Annabeth that for the past month."

She stared ahead absently. "So…how'd Annabeth take it?"

"You mean Luke waking up?"

Thalia nodded.

"She took it great. I mean, the first thing she did was hug him. "

Thalia glanced over at me, raising an eyebrow. "That bothers you?"

When I didn't say anything Thalia rolled her eyes. "Chill, kelp head. I've seen the way Annabeth acts when she's around you. She's not leaving you for _him_."

"I'm worried about her," I admitted.

Thalia shook her head. "Annabeth's not stupid. You're not giving her enough credit."

I tried to think about what Thalia had said. Even though Annabeth acted worried sick about Luke, something told me that she hadn't forgiven him. "You know… Annabeth hasn't gone to check on Luke since he woke up yesterday," I said, realizing it for the first time myself.

Thalia kicked at the dry path of dirt beneath her feet. She sighed. "Listen, Percy, because I'm only going to say this once. I _know_ Annabeth. She's confused right now."

I felt like it was about the fiftieth time that someone had told me to see things from Annabeth's eyes. I felt a flicker of frustration, but I let Thalia speak.

"Stay out of her business," Thalia told me. When she stood up to go, leaving me to think, the last thing I heard her say over her shoulder was, "You can do that, kelp head, can't you?"

...

I felt like the world outside our borders was slowly freezing over, just like the blood running through my body.

The evening was dim and snow fell lightly on the other side of Half Blood Hill. I was very aware of Christmas coming in just two days, and I almost felt guilty for not getting in touch with my mom like I had promised her. I could imagine her back inside our apartment, smiling in hope for the possible gift of a white Christmas.

It was as if my feet were absently walking a memorized path, and I realized that I was standing on the porch to the Big House without meaning to be here. The more I thought about Luke breathing just a few feet inside, the more uneasy I felt.

I was just going to check on Luke, make sure he was really as weak and innocent as he showed. That's what I told myself as my feet dragged me inside, walking down the corridor.

I found myself standing just inches away from the door where Luke slept, but something stopped me before I could step though the partly open door. Someone else was already inside.

The voices inside came to me quietly.

"Yes. I'm sure," a voice spoke. A voice I could recognize immediately: Luke's.

The second voice spoke. It was a girl's voice. "But you were barely able to breathe just a few weeks ago."

"I'm sure," Luke repeated. "I feel…different, somehow."

It was only when I leaned forward, just enough to see through the cracked door, that I saw the girl sitting by Luke was Calypso.

"Different?" she asked. When Luke didn't answer, she placed a towel on his forehead. "You're burning."

Luke focused. "Yes, different."

Calypso removed the towel. She flattened her dress before sitting down at the edge of Luke's bed. "Tell me what you remember."

Luke closed his eyes in irritation. He turned his head, staring at the wall. "I told you people. I don't know how I got here. I don't know what happened to me-"

"Shhh," Calypso quieted him. "I'm not like the others. I'm not trying to get information out of you."

Luke's eyes fell on Calypso's face. A beat of silence passed, and Calypso said, "I trust you."

I had been standing so still this whole time, I realized I was holding my breath. For a second, I remembered exactly where I was; standing in the narrow hall way, just outside the door, able to see and hear every word Luke and Calypso exchanged. Before I could tell myself that I was eavesdropping, and it was wrong, Luke spoke.

He averted his eyes from Calypso again to stare at the blank space on the wall. His voice was shallow. "I remember dying."

Calypso's fingertips barely reached forward to touch Luke's arm. He continued, "There was…this golden light consuming me."

"Kronos," Calypso said quietly. "The light, I mean. That was Kronos. After he vanished, his power exploded as light."

Luke looked troubled. His face was moistening in sweat, and Calypso extended her fingers farther, touching Luke's hand as if to comfort him.

"But then…something stopped it," Luke said hesitantly. His fingers subconsciously allowed themselves to tangle in Calypso's.

"What stopped?" Calypso asked softly. "The light?"

"Yes," Luke told her. "There was this voice. Something that made the pain go away. It kept me glued to earth."

Calypso smiled slowly. "The voice you heard. It works magic."

Luke stared at her. "That was you?"

Quietly, Calypso began humming. Even from far away, her voice sounded like a million violins producing an unbelievably tranquil sound all at once.

When she stopped, Luke didn't speak for a long time. He kept staring at her, like he was trying to remember. "You…" Luke said. "You're Calypso."

From where I stood, light shined on Calypso's face, making her smile glow. "Yes," She whispered. When Luke tried to make sense out of it, Calypso said, "Yes, the same girl from the legends."

"You're a Titan," Luke stated.

Calypso glanced at the floor. "But that doesn't mean that I desire any harm to the gods."

Luke swallowed, staring at the ceiling. "I held a sword to your throat," he said absently.

"What?"

"The war. I remember what happened," Luke said. "Kronos asked me to use you. You were Percy's weak point."

Calypso shifted uncomfortably. Her finger's retreating from Luke's hand.

"I'm sorry," Luke said immediately. "I didn't mean to-"

"No," Calypso interrupted. "You're right. Percy…he was the one who saved me from my curse."

Luke stared at her for a long time, reading her face. "Thank you," He said, finally. "For helping me, I mean."

Calypso nodded. "You're welcome."

For a second, an uncomfortable silence crawled through the air. Both Luke and Calypso were looking away from each other, avoiding eye contact.

Then, Calypso stood slowly. She adjusted some medicines beside Luke's bed before looking at him. "You should rest," she said.

"Wait." Luke spoke in a whisper. "I don't understand."

"You don't understand what?"

"You helped me," Luke said. "You remembered what I did to you, but you still helped me."

Calypso looked at her feet. "That wasn't you."

"What?"

"The person who held a sword to my throat…that wasn't you. That was Kronos."

Luke looked as if someone had just given him a second chance despite everything he had done. He looked at Calypso like she was the only one in the world that understood him.

"Besides," Calypso said quickly, "I couldn't just leave you there, could I?"

Luke kept his eyes on her. "Yes. You could have."

Calypso raised her gaze and her eyes locked in Luke's. I could never understand the meaning passing through their eyes. "I trust you, Luke," Calypso said again.

When Luke didn't speak, Calypso broke away from his gaze. "You should really rest. You need to get better."

I was so caught up in the things that Calypso and Luke had said, that I didn't realize it when Calypso was walking right towards the door where I stood to exit.

I moved just in time, sure that she hadn't seen me, and started down the hall as quickly as I could. I was so startled that I didn't see what was in front of me as I walked into the Big House's lobby, and I bumped right into someone.

Papers flew everywhere, floating down and scattering themselves on the floor.

"Sorry," I said instinctively. "I didn't see you. Sorry."

It was only when the girl spoke, that I looked up to realize it was Annabeth who I had just bumped into.

"Ow!" she said, rubbing her nose.

"Annabeth." I reached forward, touching her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Annabeth looked up at me. "Percy…" she said, irritated. "What's your problem?"

"Nothing," I mumbled, looking down at the papers scattered on the floor. They had fallen out of Annabeth's arms when I had bumped into her. "Sorry."

Annabeth sighed loudly, kneeling down to gather her documents.

I kneeled down after her, picking up the sheets of papers. Once we had gotten them all, I handed the stack in my hand to Annabeth. Her eyes met mine when she took them.

"Your nose is red," I said stupidly.

Annabeth stood up. "I wonder why, Percy. Maybe it's because you walked right into my face."

"Sorry," I said for about the fifth time, standing up.

I watched her brush a strand of hair behind her ear, as she concentrated - getting the papers back in order and placing them on the meeting table.

In the back of my head, I suddenly heard Thalia's voice for some odd reason. She repeated _Stay out of her business._

But despite remembering her words, something made me say, "So..."

Annabeth glanced at me. "What is it?"

"Were you going to go check on Luke?"

"No, Percy! I wasn't." Annabeth exhaled, straightening the stack of papers and leaving them centered on the table. She walked towards me. "I'm delivering papers for Chiron."

"Oh."

Annabeth stared at me. "What are _you_ doing here, anyway?"

"Uh, I was just-" I said mindlessly, "Um…"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Why do you look so shaken up?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing."

Annabeth kept her eyes on me for a long time. "So…what did you say you doing here?"

I focused. "I was just in the infirmary, and-"

Annabeth nodded, averting her eyes to stare towards the door. "Well, I really doubt you were here to visit Luke," she said. "So I take it, you were just looking around for Calypso."

Normally, it wouldn't have meant anything. But, the way Annabeth said it, made me feel defensive.

"I wasn't just looking around for Calypso," I told her. "Why would you think that?"

Annabeth looked at me. "What else would you be doing here?"

"Wait," I said. "Annabeth, back up. I already told you this before - Calypso's nothing more than a friend."

"So if it's nothing like that, then why can't you just tell me the truth?" Annabeth retorted. "I mean, if you were here to talk to Calypso, you could just tell me."

"I _wasn't_ here to talk to her!"

From behind me, suddenly Calypso came walking out of the hallway. She stopped when she saw us. "Oh… Hi," she said. "I didn't know you guys were here."

Annabeth looked at me. "Right," she said.

I tried to say something, but then Annabeth said, "Whatever, Percy. I believe you."

This time, when I really looked at Annabeth, I saw honesty. She was just trying to sort things out, and she didn't need me constantly asking her if she was checking on Luke. I suddenly wished I had taken Thalia's advice instead of letting her words slip away from me.

"Listen, I have to go," Annabeth said. She gestured to me and Calypso. "You guys can talk."

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**How was that? Although I love the drama, I promise a break from it in the next chapter. Hopefully, I'll be able to present some actual and enjoyable percabeth coming up really soon. I already have it planned out. ^_^**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would love to hear your thoughts on Calypso and Luke. Pleeeease review! ^_^**


	12. I Regret not Writing Beyond Friendship

**Hi! I hope the wait in getting this chapter up wasn't _too_ long! Like I promised, percabeth is here. :) I hope you enjoy! Please read and review!**

**Many thanks to Miz636 for beta-ing as usual. ^_^**

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"He's recovering fast. He might be back and up on his feet in no time."

I nodded, staring at the door. "So, what are we going to do with him?"

Chiron led me to the Big House's lobby, where we stood talking. Luke was almost fully recovered, going back to his complete old self again.

As much as I hated to think about it, the evidence was right in front of me. Chiron assured me that we would inform the gods as soon as things settled down in Olympus. The last thing we needed was the gods loosing it and blaming their problems on each other, causing another war.

"It's Christmas Eve," Chiron said, seated in his wheel chair. I followed his gaze, towards the window where he was looking beyond the borders where light snow fell lightly. "I thought your mother wanted you and Annabeth to visit her place for the occasion."

The last thing I needed was someone reminding me about my promises to my mom and I sighed.

"Annabeth had different ideas," I said.

Chiron frowned.

"It's nothing," I told him. "She just…wanted to be at camp."

"Ah." Chiron nodded and I remembered my conversation with Annabeth earlier in the month. She had wanted to stay at camp; wanted to stay near Luke.

Watching the snow outside, I found myself asking Chiron for permission to take a walk outside of the camp's borders.

I didn't know if it was just because I wanted to feel real snow or if I just needed to get away from the atmosphere at camp to think. I walked down Half Blood Hill, immediately feeling the sense of protection slip away from me as I took a few steps beyond the camp's magical shield.

It was late in the evening and the sun had set, leaving a foggy blank sky. Snowflakes fell down slowly towards the earth.

Out here in the open, I felt completely alone. I had walked far enough from camp to be sure that I wouldn't be able to see it through the fog if looked back. Out here, I was completely defenseless against any monsters. I could barely feel riptide pressing against my jeans.

But, at the time, I wasn't thinking about that. The snow felt cold on the bare skin of my arms and I could almost hear Annabeth's voice telling me how stupid I was for coming out here in nothing but half sleeves.

All around me, there was nothing but empty space and I felt like I was standing in the middle, enveloped in fog. Snow lightly hugged the grass beneath me and I could see my breath in front of me. It felt perfect, even with the feeling inside of me telling me that something was missing.

I was very aware of Athena and Poseidon arguing over our heads right now, strongly against me and Annabeth being together. But, I didn't care. Even though I knew the only thing on Annabeth's mind right now was Luke, and even though I knew that anything I said wouldn't change Annabeth's mind about him, the only thing I wanted at that moment - standing there in the snow - was Annabeth next to me.

**...**

By the time I walked back up to camp, it was dark. The fog ended right at the borders, and I stepped inside into the clear, weather-less air.

Everyone was either finishing up chores or preparing for bed because the camp looked empty with only a few stray campers wandering around.

Right before I could turn the door knob and enter my cabin, I noticed Annabeth jogging up the steps of Cabin 6. Her blonde curls were open, hanging over her shoulders, and she wore a plain blue tank top like she was just about to go to bed.

Without really thinking, I called her name.

She had already opened the door to her cabin, but she stopped and looked back when she realized it was me.

I wondered if she was still upset about what had happened yesterday with her accusing me of spending my time with Calypso. But, then she closed the door in front of her and met me halfway in the center of the cabins area.

"Hey," I said. "I haven't seen you today."

Annabeth forced a smile. "Yeah…it's been a busy day."

I nodded, noticing Annabeth's distraction. She crossed her arms looking tired, waiting for me to say what I needed to so that she could get to bed.

"It's Christmas Eve," I told Annabeth.

She looked as if she had just realized it for the first time today. "Oh, yeah." She focused. "Did you talk to your mom?"

I shook my head. "I'll call her tomorrow."

Annabeth gave me another fake smile. She nodded.

I thought back to the last iris message I had made to my mom, and I suddenly remembered something she had told me. I found myself saying, "Hey, can you come with me for a minute?"

Annabeth looked at me. "Where?"

"Just to my cabin," I told her. "It'll only take a minute."

She allowed me to take her hand, pulling her towards the Poseidon cabin. "Wait, Percy. It's about to be curfew."

"Since when did I start following rules?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Please," I said. "Seriously, this will only take a minute."

"What is it, Percy?" Annabeth asked as we walked inside.

I let go of her hand and Annabeth stood at the door, watching me as I rummaged through my backpack until I found what I was looking for; the small white box buried at the very bottom of my belongings.

I looked at her, once I had found it. "I got you something."

"What?" Annabeth asked quietly, coming towards me. I handed her the box, and Annabeth stared at it in her hands. "You got me something?"

The cabin was dark, except for the dim light of the single lamp on my bed side table. Annabeth's face glowed in the light and I tried not to get distracted by how beautiful she looked. Her hair wasn't brushed and her eyes looked sleepy, but it didn't matter.

"It was supposed to be like a Christmas present," I told her awkwardly. "I would have given it to you in the morning…but who knows what will happen tomorrow."

"You can give it to me tomorrow if you want. It's not like I'm going anywhere, Seaweed Brain."

"I know…but it's almost like you're too busy nowadays to give anyone any time." I said carefully, referring to how distraught Annabeth had been these past days. We rarely spent time together anymore and when we happened to run into each other it felt like something would always go wrong and leave both of us angry.

Annabeth was looking down. "Sorry," she whispered, and that was something I wasn't expecting. A few seconds of silence passed, and the gurgle of my fountain echoed lightly through the room. Annabeth lifted the gift in her hands. "So…can I open it?"

"Yeah, go ahead." I stuffed my hands in my pockets, unsure of what to do as Annabeth lifted the lid. "Sorry, I forgot to wrap it," I said stupidly.

Annabeth smiled, glancing at me. "I wouldn't expect you to wrap anything unless your mom made you."

When she opened the box, a delicate piece of jewelry lay tangled on layers of tissue. Annabeth straightened it with her fingers, lifting it out of the box to look at it, revealing a bracelet.

"It's…" She observed the Greek letters on the bracelet and the words engraved into the four charms hanging from the chain. "It's amazing."

I started saying, "I know that bracelets aren't really your thing, but-"

"No," Annabeth cut me off. She smiled. "I love it, Percy. It's beautiful." She set the box down, observing the bracelet.

I had to admit that about half of the weight on my shoulders was lifted off. I knew it was probably stupid, but I couldn't help but think of how this was actually the first official gift I had given her. I had been worried about whether she'd like it, or how I was supposed to act while giving it to her. After all, Annabeth was hard to please and I knew she wouldn't enjoy making things easy for me.

"_Philia_." Annabeth pronounced the Ancient Greek word on the bracelet. It was written in the Greek symbols "φιλία" and hung on the silver chain.

"It means-"

"Friendship." Annabeth stated before I could finish. She looked up at me and our eyes met. "Why'd you choose the word for friend?"

The truth was that I had wanted to write something else. Something that described me and Annabeth better than just '_friendship'_ but I had chickened out wondering of how Annabeth would react if the bracelet has said _love_. I told her, "I don't know...I guess, it's just because it reminded me that we've been friends for five years."

"Oh." Annabeth nodded.

But I could tell what she was thinking and I found myself saying, "But…I mean, you're definitely more than a friend to me, Annabeth. You know that, right?"

Annabeth's eyes looked awake this time. She said, "Just checking."

I returned her smile, telling Annabeth to look at the blue and green stones that hung like charms on the bracelet. She fingered the first one, bringing it closer to her face to make out the words. "Camp Half Blood," she read. "Did you write this?" she asked looking up to see me.

"Kind of," I told her. "I got some help from Tyson. He's the one who worked with the silver and everything, and made it in Poseidon's underwater forges."

Annabeth looked back at the bracelet like it was suddenly a billion times more valuable in her hands. "You guys actually made this. Oh my gods, I can't believe you did all this, Percy," she said with shock and amazement in her voice.

"It's nothing," I told her honestly. Annabeth ran her fingers over the letters and I said, "It's where we met."

Annabeth glanced at me. "What?"

"Camp Half Blood," I elaborated. "I wrote it because it's the place where we met."

This time Annabeth smiled for real. "I remember," she said, touching the next stone. She read, "Westover Hall."

"Nico and Bianca's old boarding school," I told her. "It's where we-"

"-where we danced for the first time," Annabeth finished. For a second, she absently stared at the letters and I had a feeling she was having pleasure remembering exactly how stupid I had made myself look tripping over Annabeth's feet at the school dance two years ago.

I felt my face burning at the memory, and I hoped Annabeth wouldn't notice.

She read the letter's on the third charm, "Mt. St. Helens." Annabeth frowned, "That's the place where I had to leave you and waited worried sick for two weeks after because I didn't know where you were."

"But I came back," I reminded her.

She loosened, nodding at the memory.

"And also," I said, "it's where… um…"

Annabeth looked at me. "Where what?"

I stuffed a hand in my pocket. "It's where you kissed me for the first time."

Annabeth smiled slowly and I held her eyes. "You remember that?" she whispered.

"Yeah," I said. "Of course, I remember that. Why would I forget?"

Annabeth laughed, which was something I hadn't heard in a long time and I noticed her looking down. "I just always thought that it didn't really mean anything," she said.

"What?"

"I mean…you went straight to Calypso's island afterwards and we never talked about it again. I always thought that you had forgotten that I even did it."

"Are you kidding, Annabeth?" I asked, with more than a little disbelief in my voice. "I never forgot about it."

Annabeth was smiling, and for a second we both remembered the memory.

Annabeth fingered the last stone. "Together," she read. She met my eyes. "What does this one mean?"

"I didn't know where'd we'd be, but it's our first Christmas together," I said. "I just hoped we'd be together."

Annabeth stared back at me and our eyes were locked. Talking about the current time, our first Christmas together, which was right now, brought us back to reality. I remembered all the things going on around us, and I knew Annabeth was suddenly reminded too.

I felt like both of us stepped outside of the safety our memories, and back into the harsh present that was surrounding us. But even though I knew things weren't going the greatest right now, at the moment, there was a look in Annabeth's eyes that made me push back all our problems for a second.

There was a sparkle rimming Annabeth's gray eyes, serving as a barrier to keep back all the hurt and emotion in her eyes. At the moment, all I could see was affection. Annabeth spoke, "We are together, Percy."

The fountain in the corner of the room quietly sounded as a narrow stream continually poured down into the puddle of water. Except for the quiet hum on the fountain and our breathing, the cabin was completely silent.

I didn't speak, and Annabeth was the first one to move. She stepped forward, allowing herself to put her arms through mine, letting go of herself in my grip. I hugged her.

I felt like time stopped. With Annabeth in my arms, my heart was sinking upon the realization of exactly how long it had been since the last time I had held her. And I realized just how much just a single touch from her could affect me enough into realizing how much I missed her.

"Thank you," Annabeth whispered in my ear.

When we pulled away I asked her, "For what?"

"The bracelet. It's amazing, Percy," she said. "Thank you."

"I'm just happy you like it," I told her, reaching forward to touch the bracelet in the palm of her hand.

Annabeth smiled. "Put it on me, Seaweed Brain."

I took her hand, unhooking the bracelet's chain and putting it around Annabeth's wrist. As I was clicking it back, I noticed the ring on Annabeth's hand.

It was something familiar - a blue stone looking like the color of Thalia's eyes and an owl engraved in the center of it. I remembered back to last year and suddenly realized it was the ring that Annabeth had kept all this time; it was Luke's ring. It was his until it had slipped off his finger during the war; it was something Luke had treasured before he lost it.

Annabeth noticed me staring and asked, "What is it?"

I looked at her, wanting to ask her a thousand questions. But then I remembered where we were, and I remembered how Annabeth and I had escaped everything going on around us for a second, and I wasn't about to ruin the moment.

"Nothing," I lied, even though I felt a rock in my chest. Seeing the ring was like a reminder; something screaming at me to inform me that Luke was still in the picture. No matter what I did, he would always still be there. I focused back on Annabeth, pushing the disappointment away from the surface. I pointed to the bracelet dangling gracefully around Annabeth's wrist. "It looks good."

Annabeth's eyes were sparkling and I felt like I was hanging onto every second. "Thank you," she whispered again.

My cabin suddenly got a little darker, lacking light coming from the window. We looked outside, noticing that the cabins around us had just clicked off their lights. Annabeth cursed. "It's already past curfew, Percy."

"I know," I said, slightly disappointed. "You should go."

I walked Annabeth to the door, but before I opened it, she stopped, turning a back to face me. I expected her to say something, but instead she kissed me.

Her lips tasted like chap stick and I could feel her hand pressing on the back of my head. It was a kiss that that made me feel like Annabeth had did it more for herself than for me. It was as if she was trying to prove something to herself; trying to remind herself of exactly what me and Annabeth had between us.

When she pulled away, she looked like she was back to reality all over again. I could read her eyes; they were vulnerable and exposed to all the things bothering her. Annabeth looked confused more than ever, struggling with everything inside of her.

I wanted to hug her again, to hold her one more time. But instead, I opened the door and Annabeth swallowed, pushing down any emotion that was exposed.

She gave me one last fake smile. "Good Night."

I whispered, "Good Night."

I watched her reach her cabin and slip inside the pitch darkness of the room, right until the moment when I couldn't see her anymore.

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**How was that? I'm crossing my finger's hoping that it was good. :) I know that this chapter wasn't full fledged percabeth, but trust me, it's coming in later chapters. As well as possibly some thuke. :) **

**I'll do my best to update soon, but I've got final's coming all through next week. Wish me luck! **

**I really really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me what you think and review! Your words mean so much and the review's make honestly make my day. Pleeasseee review. ^_^**


	13. I Regret Every Look of Hurt in her Eyes

**Hi guys! I'm back with another chapter! I hope the length of this makes up for the wait in this update. ^_^ Please enjoy and review!**

**Thanks to Mix636 for beta-ing.**

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I remembered the day Luke arrived at camp; the day Calypso brought his lifeless body through the borders and the look I saw in Annabeth's eyes.

I never thought I would be standing in the same room with Luke as he lay recovering, but here I was.

I stood in the infirmary trying not to glance at Luke with resentment as he slept. Chiron had asked me to fetch a piece of paper for him that he had left in the room while he was healing Luke. It was probably a document of some updated camp rules.

With everything going on, I couldn't help but think that it should have been the least of Chiron's problems to be enforcing new camp rules right now. But, it felt like no one was listening to anything I was saying.

It was almost like Luke was giant bomb just waiting to blowup right here in our camp and no one was listening to me as I screamed _DANGER_!

Luke was getting better, and eventually, he would be up on his feet and walking. Chiron had said that he saw no other option but to put him back in the Hermes cabin for the time being. He was convinced along with Mr. D that Luke wasn't any threat in the state that he was in.

When Chiron would speak, I had to keep reminding myself that Luke was once Chiron's student too. Luke had a past with Chiron and all of the other people I cared about. It was a past that I wasn't a part of.

Glancing around the room for the fifth time, unsuccessful at finding the paper Chiron had wanted, I was about to leave. The sooner I could get out of Luke's presence, the better.

"It's on the floor," a voice said, and I nearly jumped, turning around.

Luke laid on the bed staring at me; eyes open and awake. I looked at him for a long time, wondering if he had been awake this whole time and just pretending to be sleeping.

Luke's tired eyes moved to glance at my pocket and it was as if we both realized that my hand had suddenly gone to reach for Riptide at the sound of his voice.

I drew back my hand slowly, releasing the pen in my hand. Peeking out from underneath the bed, the paper was there on the floor just like Luke had said.

I approached it, grabbing it quickly. "Yeah," I mumbled through my teeth. "Thanks."

Luke nodded. He turned his head back towards the ceiling and closed his eyes.

I should have left right then. I had gotten what I was here for, but then I made the mistake of looking back at Luke one last time and a familiar type of anger began rushing through me.

I found myself asking, "How long have you been awake?"

Luke opened his eyes again slowly. A small smirk appeared on his lips; it was something bitter. "A better question would be when the last time that I slept was," he said.

For a second, I realized just how tired he looked. His face was ashy and stiff, his eyes looking tired with the burden of a thousand worries. I flashed back to a memory from last year, when Kronos had cut through Luke's body and all that could be heard was Luke's excruciating screams as everything was blinded in light.

Despite the memory, I said, "I think you've been getting enough rest." I referred to Luke lying uselessly on the bed.

His weary eyes bore into mine. "Do you honestly call this rest?"

The way he was said it made me feel like he was telling me exactly just how much pain he was in. But at the moment, I could have cared less. Luke deserved it.

I left his question unanswered, turning to leave.

I was at the door when Luke said, "Don't tell the gods."

I stopped, turning back to look at him. "What?"

"They won't understand," Luke said. "They've never understood."

I didn't know whether Luke was just going on about something or if he really had something important to say. I walked back in the room. "What are you talking about, Luke?"

Luke looked at me. His blue eyes were cold. "When you tell the gods I'm alive, they won't understand. They'll just sentence me to misery in Tartarus."

"What makes you think that we haven't already told the gods?"

"You haven't," he said. It was a statement.

I stared at Luke as he made the effort to sit up straight. He was gritting his teeth in pain by the time he was able to sit up on the bed and lean against the wall behind him.

I turned my head to stare at the door. "You get the punishment you deserve, Luke."

A long silence passed. Then, Luke spoke, "I don't deserve punishment as much as you think I do, Percy."

Luke already had Annabeth's trust and he had talked his way through Calypso's. As he sat in front of me trying to tell me that he wasn't as bad as I had thought, it made me angry. "You've killed thousands of people, Luke. You betrayed your own family. Do you really want to tell me what you deserve?"

The narrow scar under Luke's eyes stretched his face went plain. "Are you calling the gods my _family_?"

"Even if you were angry at them," I said. "It still doesn't give you an excuse to run off trying to destroy your own people."

"You know why I did it, Percy," Luke said.

I stared at him.

"I know you've heard Kronos voice," Luke told me. "You've heard what he offered."

"He offered you power. Was that worth-"

"He offered vengeance," Luke said, cutting me off.

"What?"

"The gods let Thalia die."

I flashed back five years ago when I had gotten back to camp after my first quest. Luke had set scorpions at my throat and told me those exact words before he left. _The gods let Thalia die._

I remembered Thalia and how she had been acting these past few days. She was hurt and confused, and Luke was responsible for it.

It surprised Luke when I stepped forward, matching the icy flames behind his stare. "Don't even talk about Thalia."

Luke looked at me for a second like he didn't understand where my anger was coming form.

"If you cared about Thalia," I said, "You would have listened to what she told you. Do you think she wanted revenge? Did she want you to join Kronos and leave Annabeth?"

Luke stayed silent and I thought that he had gotten my point. But, then he simply spoke three words, "You don't understand."

I felt like Luke was pushing me to the edge and I had to look away to stay collected. "Alright," I reasoned with him. "Tell me what I don't understand, Luke."

"You weren't there when Thalia died," Luke said calmly. "I couldn't just sit around as the gods' tool anymore."

"You were angry at the gods… I get it," I told him. "That's still not worth trying to kill everyone else who you cared about."

"I didn't have a choice," Luke said quietly.

"Yes you did. You could have –"

"I didn't have a choice," Luke repeated louder this time, and I realized it was the first time he had raised his voice. "The moment I left," Luke said, "I didn't have a choice anymore."

"You chose to leave."

"I can't take that back," Luke said and it was almost like he was saying that he had made a mistake. Luke mumbled incoherently, "If I knew what was coming…"

I stood my ground, still unconvinced. "Was Annabeth worth all this?" I asked. "What she went through after you left…was it worth it?"

"I never wanted to hurt Annabeth." Luke said. His tone went back to the same plainness. When he saw my expression, he said, "I don't expect you to believe me."

I tried to listen to what he was saying. "So, you're telling me that after everything you did..." I said, doubtingly, "you didn't have a choice?"

His answer wasn't simple like I had expected. He said, "The gods never cared about us."

Luke waited for some kind of confirmation from me. When he noticed that I wasn't going to give it to him, he continued, "I didn't have control, Percy. I was _his_."

"His?" I asked. "You mean Kronos."

"Yes."

I tried to understand him, but then Luke turned his head like Kronos was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

Before I could say anything, Luke spoke again, "I would never hurt her." I didn't know if he was talking about Annabeth or Thalia, but he left it at that. "I have no intention of hurting anyone here, Percy."

Standing there, seeing Luke leaned against the wall in an almost dead state and hearing him tell me that he done everything for a reason, I honestly tried to believe him.

But, then I remembered every look in Annabeth's eyes that cried out for Luke, and I remembered exactly what he had done. I felt like I would never be able to let go of the scars Luke had made on everyone I cared about.

Feeling like my head was about to explode with the millions of thoughts in them, I turned around. I wasn't in the mood to hear anything else Luke had to say, and I was done.

I found myself giving Luke one last look of disappointed before I walked right out the door. But, right as I was about to close the door behind me, Luke asked for one last favor: "Can I see Thalia?"

Something about him asking for Thalia made me stop in my tracks. I didn't know what was going through his mind or how he had the nerve to ask about Thalia after everything I had said. But for some reason, his request made me stop to listen to him.

Luke's voice was pleading and I could never understand why I believed him that moment. When I looked at his face, it was like I was suddenly sitting on Luke's side of the room.

Something that I knew I would never understand for the rest of my life what was going through my head. I didn't even realize it when I said, "I'll talk to her."

Luke closed his eyes. "Thank you."

Almost immediately, I wanted to take back my words. The flicker of anger returned, and before I closed the door, leaving for good, I said, "But don't count on her wanting to see you."

**...**

"Absolutely not!" Thalia exclaimed, staring at me like I had just asked her to kiss a Cyclops.

"He just wants to see you, Thalia," I explained. "Just listen to what he wants to say. How bad could that be?"

"Since when do you talk in Luke's favor?" Thalia questioned, an angry and disbelieving look filling her face.

"I don't."

"You are right now," Thalia pointed out.

"Look, Thalia, all I'm saying is that…maybe you should see what he wants to say."

"Why the Hades would I want to do that, Percy?" Thalia said, and I could see fire in her eyes.

"I don't know," I said, giving up. "But, Luke asked me if he could see you, alright? You can do whatever you want."

"Thanks for telling me that Luke has a sudden interest in wanting to see me," Thalia said, before she stormed off back to the cabins. "But you of all people should know what the answer is."

After she disappeared, I should have learned my lesson about how complicated girls could be. But, instead, I went to go see Annabeth, the girl who seemed to leave me the most confused just when I thought I understood her.

**...**

Annabeth wrapped three fingers around the string, drawing her elbow back slowly towards her face. She focused.

Her eyes narrowed at the target, and she waited… then released.

The arrow went straight, piercing itself directly in the center of the target.

A few campers clapped.

"Perfect!" Chiron spoke. He trotted over to Annabeth.

They were having Archery practice, and I stood on the borders of the field. The sky was foggy and I tried to think about all the snow piled just outside of camp.

Annabeth shot again. It was another bull's eye.

Chiron turned towards the other campers and praised Annabeth's aim as she shot her bow. He told them to watch and follow her example, and I noticed Annabeth blocking out Chiron's voice as she spotted me staring at her all the way from the other side of the field.

When she finally separated herself from the campers and Chiron's lessons, she jogged up to me. I wasn't expecting it when she hugged me.

"Hey," I said.

"I have to get back to Practice, Percy," she told me quickly, "but I didn't get to talk to you yesterday and I just wanted to tell you that…it was a really good Christmas, yesterday." She smiled.

"Yeah," I found myself saying, "it was."

As she jogged back down the field and lifted her bow, I found myself remembering exactly what had happened yesterday.

It hadn't been the Christmas that I had expected it to be.

After a small mishap involving Mrs. O'Leary - my pet hell hound at camp - and the strawberry patch, we had to spend our Christmas helping restore the gardening. Annabeth was next to me, digging small holes for the seeds, and even though I barely got to talk to her, she didn't look distracted for once.

Annabeth wore her bracelet around her wrist. It got covered in dirt by the time she finished tending the patch, but it was still shining.

Calypso had finally gotten to plant again and I remembered her on Ogygia. But this time it was different; she wasn't alone.

Before the day had ended, I Iris messaged my mom. She was celebrating the holiday with Paul and our neighbors back in Manhattan, and she had gotten the white Christmas she had hoped for. Just seeing her smiling was better than any Christmas gift I could get.

But, today was a new day and I had already been greeted with a million new things to think about. I felt like my conversation with Luke was going to keep me awake tonight, and I remembered all the things he had said.

Even though Annabeth was making an effort to keep things going steady, both of us knew that we couldn't ignore everything around us.

Annabeth was acting casual, but I could see through her cover and it surprised me. Things were getting more and more complicated, and she was caught in the center of them.

The last time I saw Annabeth that night, she was standing outside the mess hall glancing at the Big House behind her. She hadn't gone to talk to Luke once ever since he had woken up, and I didn't know what she was really thinking. She stood there still for a long time, and when she finally turned back to go to her cabin, I could see her eyes glossed over with all the hurt Luke had ever given her.

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**Hope you liked the chapter! Not much of this story left…I'm predicting about 5 more chapters before the end. :) As I promised, things will definitely start picking up.**

**I hope this chapter worked. If you hated Luke throughout all this, I'm hoping that you hate him just a tiny bit less after this chapter. ^_^ Please tell me what you think!**

**Review! Please? **


	14. I Regret not Being A Part of the Past

**Back with another chapter. ^_^ Congratz for the start of summer for all of those who are out fo school already. I still have two more long weeks to go before I'm freed...**

**Oh, well, I still promise to do my best to keep presenting chapters during that time, starting with this one. :) Hope you like this chapter and enjoy! Please read and review. **

**Thanks again to Miz636 for beta-ing!**

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"I've had it with girls!" Grover grumbled, from next to me. "Juniper's being impossible!"

"Tell me about it," I said absently, more focused on watching Annabeth approaching us than what he was saying. She looked more bothered than she should have; her hair tangled in a pony tail and her eyes tired with barely any sleep.

I got so caught up in looking at Annabeth that I didn't even realize it when Grover left my side to return to his tent.

Annabeth walked up to me, her hands crossed tightly around her chest.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked her when she reached me.

She didn't even bother giving me one of her fake smiles, which had almost become a common thing now.

"Yeah," Annabeth spoke. "Why?"

I reached forward to touch her fingers and she loosened, uncrossing her arms to give me her hand. "You look tired," I pointed out. "Where were you?"

Annabeth let go of my hand almost immediately. She brushed a loose curl of hair behind her ear and looked towards the strawberry patches. "I was…um…" Annabeth trailed off.

"What?" I said quietly, reminding her that I was still here.

Annabeth looked at me and focused. "I was at the Big House."

I nodded, almost sure that there was absolutely no chance of Annabeth running into Luke at the Big House. She hadn't gone since he became conscious, and although I didn't know what was going through her head, it was obvious that she was avoiding him.

But then as if to confirm my fear and prove me wrong, she said, "I…um, I went to go see Luke today."

I felt like a million things crossed through my head. "What?"

Annabeth shifted on her feet, staring in the distance.

"I mean…why?" I said, finding my head.

Annabeth's eyes sparked the next time she looked at me. It was like her eyes were telling me to back off because she already had a billion things going on for her. "What? Do I need to get your permission to go see him?"

I ignored the edge to her words. "What did he say to you?"

Annabeth played with the beads around her neck. She shook her head, absentmindedly. "Nothing, Percy."

The more I thought about the image of Annabeth talking to Luke in the infirmary room, the heavier my chest felt. Annabeth had years of the past to remind him about. It was something I would never be able to compete with.

Annabeth spoke when she noticed my expression of irritation towards Luke. "He didn't give me any valuable information about the Titans, if that's what you were looking for."

"Annabeth, you know what I mean…" I told her. "This is the first time in five years that you've spoken to him again while he wasn't out trying to kill us. I just want to know what he said."

Even though her words were coming out harsh, I could easily see through her cover. The last thing she was trying to do was be rude or start an argument with me.

I finally caught Annabeth's eyes and she held them there. She whispered, "He said sorry."

"Sorry?" I repeated, taking it in. I tried not to feel angry but my thoughts were coming out without my permission. "And, that's it?" I asked her, annoyed. "You just forgive him now?"

Annabeth looked at me like she knew I would react this way. "Just drop it, Percy."

I exhaled loudly, making it obvious that I wasn't it the happiest mood.

She saw the look in my eyes and stood her ground. "You don't get it," Annabeth told me, matching the look in my eyes. "I _know_ when I can trust someone."

"So after everything he did…" I said. "Do you just trust him again?"

"That's not what I'm saying." Annabeth stated, crossing her arms again.

"Then what _are_ you saying?"

Annabeth stared over my shoulder for a long time, and I tried to read her eyes. I was sure the sun had set by the time she spoke again. "Just forget it."

**...**

I felt like I had already had enough of Luke for that day, but fate wasn't on my side.

As if on cue, Thalia had something new on her mind that evening.

When I saw her sitting on the benches inside the Sword Arena alone, I knew she had been thinking.

Thalia stood up when she saw me. "I wish you didn't tell me about Luke."

I studied her, before speaking. "What?"

"You said I should see what he wants."

I nodded slowly, starting to understand what was bothering her. "You don't have to," I reminded her. "But…I mean, maybe you should just get it over with, you know? See what he wants to say."

I wasn't expecting it when Thalia said, "You're right."

"I am?" I said, almost surprised. Just yesterday, Thalia had almost murdered me for even bringing up the question of her seeing Luke, and now she stood in front of me telling me that I was right.

I started at her, completely confused with what had prompted the sudden change of mind inside her.

"I'll see him," Thalia stated.

"Hold on…" I said, trying to understand what was going through her head. "I thought you didn't want to, Thalia. Why do you want to hear what he has to say all of a sudden?"

"I _don't_ want to hear what he wants to say. I just-" Thalia clenched her fingers tighter in hands. "I had a dream…" she said, distracted.

"A dream?" I asked. "What dream?"

Thalia sighed in annoyance. "It doesn't matter, Percy. Are you going to come with me or not?"

As confused as I was by all of this, something made me listen to Thalia. I remembered the plea in Luke's voice when he asked to see Thalia. It was as if for once he wasn't the guy who had given raise to Kronos; he was just an ordinary person lost in the cruelty of the gods' world.

I knew I would never understand why Luke's words got to me or why Thalia suddenly wanting to see Luke didn't surprise me as much as it should have.

I didn't bother knocking when I stepped into the infirmary room where Luke was.

He looked surprised to see me when I walked in. There was a small bag of his only belongings lying beside his feet and he was sitting up at the edge of the bed with his feet on the ground.

He was just about ready to move back into his cabin, and I tried not to think about how Travis and Connor would greet him.

For the first time in days, Luke had finally gotten to change out of his ripped up and raged clothes. He wore a faded blue button down shirt and shoes.

Luke continued staring at me when I didn't speak.

Standing there, I was almost tempted to ask him exactly what lies he had fed into Annabeth's mind earlier today, but then I remembered why I was here.

"I did what you asked for," I told Luke, trying my best to sound bitter.

"What?" Luke questioned.

I stepped aside from the door, revealing a shadow. Thalia stood down the corridor enveloped in the darkness of the hallway.

"There's someone who agreed to see you."

It took Luke a second to understand what I was saying, but when he thought he did, his face turned pale; a bewildered look filling his eyes.

For the first time in months, Luke stood up. His body looked weak and I could see pain cross over his face as his knees almost buckled. But, Luke caught himself and I knew he was solely focused on the possibility of seeing his old friend; the girl he had taken every step towards death for.

I could never explain the feeling Thalia brought into the room when she stepped inside. If Luke didn't already look like the room was below zero, he looked like it was now.

Thalia's eyes were fixed on anything besides Luke's tall figure in front of her. I didn't catch her glance at him once. It was like she didn't care.

"Thalia," Luke spoke, and I realized it was the first time Thalia had heard him say her name since she pushed him off of Mt. Tam. It was all before she had accepted Lady Artemis' oath.

I expected to see fire, but instead bitterness colder than ice reflected in Thalia's electric blue iris's when she set her eyes on Luke's face for the first time. "What did you want, Luke?"

Luke took a moment to recover, remembering why he had called Thalia. The scar running down Luke's left cheek looked like it had been reopened with fresh blood. "I don't mean any harm, Thalia."

"You've already done all the harm you could do," Thalia said, her face emotionless.

"Look, Thalia, I just…I needed to -" Luke stuttered on his words. "I need to tell you -"

"Tell me what?" Thalia cut him off abruptly. Her voice was harsh. "That you're sorry?"

Luke went silent, and when I looked at Thalia's face it was like I could read the anger behind her eyes, even though they were glossed over with no expression.

"Thalia…_listen_ to me." Luke said, his eyes were boring into Thalia's. For a second, Thalia waited and Luke could have spoken, but something was holding him back.

It was silent and I remembered where I was. Feeling like an outsider between the two of them, I turned around to leave. Luke had asked to speak to Thalia and I was about to fulfill the complete request by giving him privacy. But as I turned, Thalia grabbed my wrist.

She broke her eyes from Luke to meet mine. "Don't leave," she told me. It was almost like she was afraid to be left alone with him.

For a second I could feel Luke's eyes, filling with resentment, on me. Luke was used to Thalia trusting him like she had for years, and now _I_ was the one she wanted by her side during a quest or a meeting with an old villain.

"Do you not trust me?" Luke asked Thalia, his arms hanging defenseless by his side.

Thalia didn't look at him, her eyes frozen on the wall. "You did what you did, Luke. You shouldn't have expected me to be sitting here waiting for you to change your mind and decide to come back." She met his eyes. "Things are different now."

"If you understood, Thalia..." Luke said. "If you knew why I did everything, you would be on my side."

"I understand that you left Annabeth," Thalia said. Her stormy blue eyes were sparking with resentment.

Luke's expression made it clear that Thalia's word were way more effective than mine when I tried to remind him about how much he had hurt Annabeth.

"Don't you remember all those times we talked, Thalia?" Luke asked, surprising me that he could hold his gaze against Thalia's electrifying eyes. "All those nights we talked about the gods….how they never cared about us. You agreed with me back then."

Thalia's breathing was sharp. She turned her head to look at anything but Luke and I knew that talk about the past was getting to her.

Luke continued, "If you knew what I was thinking, Thalia…you would understand."

Thalia stayed silent for a long time. I didn't know whether she was thinking about what Luke had just said, or if she was remembering the strange dream she had talked about having. When she spoke again, her voice was different. It wasn't harsh.

"I'm a huntress, Luke." Thalia met his eyes.

I could never understand the look crossing between their eyes. Luke's face looked more serious than ever. His thin lips didn't change shape from the firm line formed across his mouth, and it was as if Thalia's eyes were telling him something without her permission.

I found myself flashing back two years ago when Thalia had told me why she hadn't become a huntress the first time Zoë asked her all those years ago. She hadn't wanted to leave Luke.

Zoë had been right about Luke betraying Thalia one day, and now as Thalia stood in front of Luke - their eyes locked - it was like a barrier stronger than the god's wrath stood between them. It was as if they couldn't reach out to touch each other's hands even if they tried; the barrier was too strong.

The room felt like it had dropped below a million degrees and Thalia averted her eyes. "I'm leaving, Luke," Thalia said, her voice returning to the same bitterness.

Luke seemed to snap out of it at the same time. "Wait…Thalia," he said, "just listen to me -"

"It's over," Thalia said. "I don't want to hear it anymore, Luke."

"Thalia, I need you to listen-"

Something about Thalia was getting to me, and I found myself stepping in. "Alright, Luke, enough," I said, cutting him off. "Just drop it."

Luke didn't look pleased as he glanced at me, but he exhaled, accepting the fact that Thalia wasn't anywhere near forgiving.

I didn't know whether Thalia had wanted me to step in for her, but I caught the look she gave me before she walked out of the Big House. The look in her eyes thanked me.

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**As always, I really hope you liked it. Tell me in a review? **

**Crossing my fingers, hoping that I did Luke and Thalia justice. ^_^ As for percabeth…If things go according to plan, I can promise that you're going to see more of it really soon. As in _next chapter_ soon. ;) So stay tuned.**

** Please review! It works motivational magic.**


	15. I Regret Doubting Her Trust

**Hello everyone! Summer is officially here for me, and I'm finally back with another chapter. I'm extremely sorry about the long time it took me to get this chapter up, but my beta, Miz636, was out of state and it took longer than usual to get this chapter edited.**

**But, much thanks to her for editing this throughout her vacation and for all the help with this chapter.**

**This chapter is longer than usual, and I hope the length makes up for the long wait. ^_^ Please enjoy!**

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A rush of wind blew forward, carrying the ocean's bitter cold water towards my feet.

It was unusual for the weather to be leaking into camp, but as I sat on the wet sand of the beach, I had other things on my mind.

Luke had moved back into his old cabin, and things were going back to normal. When I would look into Annabeth's eyes, I knew she was fighting a terrible battle within herself; fighting to forget that Luke had ever even left in the first place.

The wind was reckless, cradling the water back and forth as I tried to remember what it was like before Luke had shown up again. The only thing I had on my mind back then was how I felt about Annabeth and how I could make things better than they already were.

My fingers absently ran along the surface of the beach, underlining the symbols written in front of me.

"_έρως_." I stared at the Greek letters that I had unintentionally traced into the sand. It was the word _eros_ in ancient Greek; the definition for the word _love_.

Before I even had time to understand why I had absently written the Greek word translating to love into the sand, the ocean water thrust forward towards me. The letters vanished as the ocean drew back, and there was no evidence of the symbols left.

Sitting there, staring at the smooth sand where the word had been just a few seconds ago, I remembered something. "_Eros._" It was the word I had wanted to write on Annabeth's bracelet.

I had finally thought I could tell her what was really in mind about how I felt about her, but then I had chickened out and settled for writing "friendship" on the bracelet.

It didn't matter now.

The bracelet was already made and "_eros_" had already been washed away by the salty sea as if it were never written.

It was almost like Poseidon himself had taken the liberty to wipe away the symbols. It was then that I remembered our parents up in Olympus.

It wasn't safe testing the gods' wrath the way Annabeth and I had been doing, but there was no other choice. They wanted Annabeth and I separated, and that was something I couldn't even live long enough to think about.

The sun that had been shining brightly just moments ago turned blazing orange as it hid behind the horizon. The sunset reflected on the ripples of waves in the ocean as they sailed towards me. Deep into the sea, where waves were clashing against each other, sea mist rose into the air.

I told myself I must have been exhausted and just imagining things, but I could have sworn that I was seeing thin, colorless mist rising up above the surface of the sea.

And then, before I even had time to blink, I saw a godly figure emerging from the ocean. It was Poseidon, my father.

I rubbed my eyes, but Poseidon was still there, now in his human form, dressed in leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Hawaiian style shirt.

It took me a second to realize what was happening, but when I did, the fear vanished.

It was just an illusion. I had seen this before last year when Rachel would appear in my cabin telling me she was just my imagination. I wasn't sure if I was crazy or not, but I _was_sure that Poseidon was just a hallucination the way Rachel had been.

The sea god's eyes were unreadable as he came closer. He had almost walked completely out of the ocean; the water only rimmed up to his ankles now as he stood in front of me. Looking into my dad's face was like starting at the ocean. Sometimes I could tell what the mood was, but other times it was mysterious, like the way it was now.

Poseidon had always had a brooding face, but this time it was different. I couldn't tell if he was here to support me against Athena's wrath or if he resented me for staying with Annabeth.

When Poseidon spoke his only question, it was like the roar of all the oceans in the world coming together to echo him. He asked, "Is that daughter of Athena really worth it?"

The next second, Poseidon was gone. He vanished, leaving nothing behind. The mist was gone as if it had never been there.

I would never understand how any of this was possible or how I _knew_ it was just my imagination, but I had already gone through too much to think anything was impossible anymore.

As the sun disappeared, Poseidon's words sank in, and I felt angry.

Not angry at Poseidon for wanting to destroy I had with his rival's daughter. Not angry at Luke for putting me and my friends in the position that I was in.

I was angry with myself because Annabeth really _was_ worth it; angry because I needed her so much. Annabeth had become something that I couldn't live without, and with her so distant from me, I felt like half of me was missing.

I loved her, and I couldn't even get the chance to tell her.

I sat on the beach until the waves had come far enough up the shore to reach my waist. The cold water seemed freezing now, and the ocean appeared as an inky shade of black.

By the time I finally got up and walked back towards camp, it was dark. The moon seemed barely a few feet away as it shone brightly and the stars looked close enough to touch.

The weather was cold next to the borders, and the snow outside was icing over. When I reached Half Blood Hill, I was surprised to see someone else out here in the dark.

It was Thalia. She sat on the rough ground, leaning up against her tree. Her fingers were curved tightly around her knees, which were pulled up against her chest. It was too dark to see her face, but the moonlight shone just enough over her eyes for me to tell that her eyeliner and mascara were smeared across her eyes.

If Thalia noticed I was there, she didn't bother looking my way. I didn't know how much time passed, but as I stood there, I realized exactly how badly everything was eating her up on the inside even though it didn't look like it.

When Thalia tightened her arms around her knees, I was sure she knew I was there. I didn't even realize it when I called her name. "Thalia…"

She ignored me.

Standing there, I flashed back to everything Thalia had ever said about Luke. For a second, I found myself wondering about Thalia's dream again; the one that had convinced her enough to see Luke. I knew I shouldn't have even dared bothering her, but something made me talk anyway. "You know," I said just loud enough for her to hear, "you told me once that you thought you could have made a difference with Luke if you weren't a Hunter."

Thalia stared ahead, the darkness shadowing her face.

"You had hope for him back then," I told her. "What happened now?"

Outside the borders, the sound of furious wind roamed in the air. Besides the voice of the approaching storm, it was silent. Thalia didn't speak, and I knew now more than ever that she could hear me.

"I'm just saying…" I said slowly in an attempt to get through to her one last time. "Maybe you should hear what he has to say."

"Leave me alone, Percy," was all that Thalia said when she finally spoke. I couldn't read her face, but knowing that there was no one who could ever compare to her pain, I gave up.

I walked away, leaving Thalia in the shade of her pine tree. When I was almost half way down the hill, Thalia called back.

"Listen to me," Thalia said, her tone concealed. "Whatever you do, Percy… never lose Annabeth." This time her voice was enveloped in hurt. "Don't lose her over something stupid."

Thalia left it at that, and I found myself feeling more confused than ever as I walked back towards camp.

I was still by the borders when I bumped into the person who seemed to have every last bit of my mind at the moment. It was Annabeth.

"You okay?" I touched her arm to steady her. When she looked at me, her eyes were wide with a million things going on in them. She looked so startled and shaken up that she wasn't even focusing on me.

"Hey…what's wrong?" I stepped closer to meet her eyes.

She glanced at me for barely a second before looking away as if her life was suddenly depending on something. As I stared at her, something inside me told me exactly where she was just coming from, and my chest was sinking. I asked her, "Were you with Luke?"

Annabeth seemed to focus on me for just a second. Her eyes locked into mine, and she was so shaken up by something that she didn't even bother answering me with anything witty. She simply spoke one word in a short breath. "Yeah."

I shifted on my feet. I kept staring at her, trying to understand what had left her so startled, but Annabeth looked more distracted than ever. Before she could go, I held her there by the arm before asking her, "Did something happen?"

The next time Annabeth's eyes met mine, it was like she honestly acknowledged that I was in front of her and trying to talk her for the first time. She stared at me and her eyes filled with something I thought I'd never see in them. Underneath the strong determination, they carried guilt and regret.

Annabeth caught herself before any more emotion could leak out, and she looked towards the ground. "No," she said quickly, trying to focus. "Nothing happened. I was… I was just talking to him, Percy."

I tried to believe that was the truth, but I knew Annabeth better than that, and I knew that something was wrong. I wasn't sure what had happed to leave Annabeth so startled, but I knew Luke was responsible.

Outside the borders, slow rain could be heard falling onto the pavement outside of camp, and I knew the storm had started. Annabeth and I stood barely a foot away from the edge of the borders, and I could almost feel the sharp raindrops touch my skin.

Annabeth brushed her hair out of her face, and I could see the overwhelmed look in her eyes. A flicker of irritation was poking me as I thought about Luke. He was hurting Annabeth in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do anything about it.

"Don't do this to yourself," I told her.

She glanced at me, confusion at my words joining the mess of emotions in her eyes. "What?"

"Luke's not worth it," I tried to tell her, trying to make her understand. I let go of her arm. "You don't have to hurt yourself over him."

Annabeth looked like she was only listening to half of what I was saying while the other half of her attention was focused on whatever had just happened with Luke.

I had rarely seen her this split when it came to her focus; she usually gave her full attention to something or someone when it was important, and standing in front of her it seemed like Annabeth was just avoiding me.

"Percy… I don't need this right now," Annabeth said, her voice shaky. "Listen… I - I'll talk to you later… I need to go."

Annabeth tried to step away, but I was anything but done with this conversation. I felt like every inch of me resented Luke; it the only thing I could think about. "Can you honestly forgive him?" I asked her, blocking her path just enough to keep her standing there.

The rain was falling heavier outside, and it was unusual for there to be a rainstorm in the middle of winter. The sky was covered with thick black clouds, and the moon was hidden now.

Annabeth touched her head as if it were spinning. "You know…you don't have to treat Luke like the bad guy," Annabeth choked out as best as she could. "He's not bad."

"Annabeth-" I started saying something, but she was seriously reaching her limit.

"Look, Percy," Annabeth said, interrupting me before I could say anything about Luke, "I can't handle all this right now. _Please, _just let me go."

"We need to talk about this, Annabeth," I said, and I didn't even know where the anger was coming from anymore. All I knew was that I'd had it with Luke.

Annabeth stood her ground with me, although she looked like she was about to break any second.

"Why are you acting like you're so nervous?" I asked her, seriously getting worried about what was going on with her. "Tell me what just happened."

She stared at me. The same look of guilt and fear, which I never expected to see from her, filled her eyes again before she turned her head away from me, unable to look me in the eye. "Nothing happened."

"You're obviously not okay," I said, trying to figure out why she couldn't meet my eyes without having them filled with guilt. "There's something wrong."

"Percy." The rain outside had gotten so fierce that it drowned out Annabeth's voice so much that I could barely hear her say my name.

I spoke above the roar of the storm. "Just _tell me,_Annabeth. What happened?_"_

Annabeth's eyes looked red. She mouthed something that I couldn't hear over the pouring rain.

I stepped closer to her. "What?"

"I kissed him!" Annabeth said loud enough to be heard, her voice quavering.

It only took me a second to understand what she had just said, and it suddenly felt like anger a million times worse than I had ever felt before stirred through my veins. I was more ready now than I'd ever been before to kill Luke. It felt like nothing could get in my way, and my anger towards Luke took over me.

I didn't even realize it when I began walking down towards camp. I don't know what I would have done to Luke, but Annabeth noticed the fury on my face and did everything she could to stop me in my tracks. I was already halfway down the path along the borders before I realized what she trying to say.

When I paused, she put her hand on my shoulder, holding me there.

"_I_kissed him," Annabeth repeated with emphasis on herself. Her eyes were glassy now, threatening to shatter any second. "I kissed Luke, Percy," she said barely loud enough to hear above the rain. "He didn't do anything."

I felt like Annabeth had just stabbed me through my chest with her knife. "_What_?"

When Annabeth saw the look in my eyes, it was like a million jolts of regret shot through her. She looked close to crying. "Percy, you have to listen to me."

I wasn't thinking when I moved, jerking Annabeth's hand off my shoulder so fast that a flash of shock crossed her face. "Why the Hades would you do that?" I asked, not even caring how harshly it came out; I was beyond furious at what I had just heard and couldn't even think straight.

"You don't understand, Percy," she tried to say, but I felt like I was ready to explode. The image of Annabeth's lips on Luke's was like a burning hot rod piercing through me.

"I don't understand what?" I asked, screaming louder to be heard over the picking up storm. "That you _kissed_ Luke?"

"Percy-"

"I don't think you even care about _us_ anymore, Annabeth." I got right in her face. I could barely hear her trying to say something. "If you'd rather be _kissing_ Luke instead of standing here right now, you should have the guts to tell me."

"It's not like that!" Annabeth's voice cracked. I knew that even she was surprised by the extent to my anger, but I didn't care at the moment. I had been through so much in the past couple of weeks my fuse was that short and she had just set off the explosion; I had finally lost control.

Annabeth kept trying to explain herself, but I honestly felt like she had just pushed me off the edge of everything I still had faith in.

"I trusted you."

When I said it, Annabeth's eyes, which had only been watery before, leaked a tear. There was a look of hurt on her fact that I couldn't explain no matter how hard I tried. I found myself turning away from her face.

"Hold on," she attempted again, speaking over the noise next to us. She was crying and that was enough to make me hear her out. "Percy, just listen to me for a second."

Heavy sheets of rain were coming down outside, and it took every last bit of me to stop and look into Annabeth's shattered gray eyes.

"I wasn't trying to betray you," Annabeth said, raising her voice over the howling rainstorm. She had to scream now to be heard. "I just… I had to… I needed to _know_, Percy."

"So was I just some toy that you played with until Luke came back?" I asked, my anger taking over me again so much that I couldn't think past what she was saying and what my mind was telling me. We were both talking on the top of our lungs now. "Something to play with while he was gone?"

"Percy, stop it! Why are you acting like this?" Annabeth screamed. "This isn't about you!"

"Yes it is, Annabeth. This is about _us_!"

"It was something I needed to do, Percy… something for me and Luke." Annabeth continued explaining, but I felt like I had already been used and thrown away. Nothing she said could take away that feeling from me.

I found myself shaking my head. "This isn't working," I said, feeling like a sword was piercing through my heart as I spoke. "I can't keep doing this, Annabeth. You want Luke, and-"

"What are you trying to say?" Annabeth cut me off. The apologetic look in her eyes drowned away into one of disbelief and fury. She stood her ground, stepping closer to me. Our noses could have bumped. "You would _break up_ with me over something as stupid as a misunderstanding about Luke? How could you even think about that?"

"This is bigger than just a _misunderstanding_, Annabeth! I can't believe you would-"

"What's your problem?" Annabeth screamed, interrupting me again. The storm had truly reached its peak, and if it weren't for the borders, Annabeth and I would probably have gotten blown away and drowned in the wrath of the wind and hurricane-like rain. "Leave _us_ out of it, Percy. Why can't you just let me handle Luke myself and stay out of it?"

"Because I'm losing you, Annabeth!" I told her. A howl of wind sounded past us in the sky. "I can't take it. I need you, Annabeth, alright?"

I didn't know what I was saying anymore, but I meant it; I was letting my feelings take over my words instead of my brain. I watched Annabeth's eyes lose their fury as she listened to me. I continued in the heat of my words.

"Did you once think of me, Annabeth?" I asked her. "Did you once think about the fact that I love you? Did you think about the fact that I was sitting on the beach thinking about you when you kissed him?"

Annabeth's eyes widened.

"Luke won't ever care about you the way I do, okay?" I told her.

"Percy…" Annabeth tried to interrupt but I wasn't paying attention.

"I can't keep watching you hurt yourself because of him. Annabeth, I can't-"

"Percy!" Annabeth finally managed to make me listen. She had stepped dangerously close to me, and I could see every color in her eyes. She had put her hand on the side of my face to get my attention, and now I felt like everything I had ever felt about Annabeth was rushing through me all over again.

Annabeth was breathing heavily from all the screaming and I stared at her. Annabeth moved her hand further across the side of my face, and I could feel her fingers tangle in my hair. She spoke. "What did you say?"

It only took me a second to flash back through everything that had just happened, and when I realized that I had told Annabeth I loved her, my heart sized in fear. My stomach was doing summersaults.

Annabeth's face was barely centimeters away, and I couldn't even remember how we had gone from screaming to standing close together. Violent sheets of rain were pouring down right next to us.

Staring back at Annabeth's eyes, which were drawing the words right out my mouth, I found myself swallowing. I felt like I had finally let go of everything I had been holding onto inside of me when I spoke. "I love you."

Annabeth stared at me. When she didn't say anything, I immediately felt the same fear crawling through again.

But then I saw something in Annabeth's eyes as if the words had just clicked. Annabeth reacted in a way I wasn't expecting. She hugged me.

A blow of wind came right towards the borders, leaking just a little bit of the storm inside and brushing raindrops onto Annabeth and me. I could feel her arm around my waist and the other hand against the back of my head as she held onto me. I lost myself, and feeling like my brain was throbbing, I hugged her back, holding her against me for everything I was worth.

It took me a second to realize that the cold raindrops were mixed in with Annabeth's tears. She whispered something into my ear and I held her. She had said, "I'm sorry."

I stared back in her eyes when she pulled away just enough to see my face. "I didn't mean to kiss Luke," Annabeth said, trying to steady her voice. The wind was still furious but Annabeth was so close to me that I could hear her perfectly. "I just needed to know how I felt, Percy. I'm sorry," she repeated.

I tried to tell her I understood but Annabeth was rambling now. "You told me to choose," she said. "I was just trying to remember who I needed. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I never meant to hurt you, Percy." She stopped to brush her eyes of her tears before she continued. "And I can't believe you just said you love me, Seaweed Brain. I don't even know how -"

"Hey," I cut her off gently. "Why are you so surprised? You didn't know that?"

Annabeth stared at me for a long time, and I felt like she was trying to read every inch of my face. She took a deep breath. Everything had suddenly happened so fast, and Annabeth was smiling now. "It's the first time you've ever said it."

Standing there, right on the edge of the camp's borders, a fierce hurricane pouring down right next to us, and with Annabeth in my arms, I realized that I wasn't just someone trying to let my girlfriend know how I felt about her. I realized right then that I was entirely, head-over-heels, completely in love with Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth kissed me, and it felt like my world stopped. It was as if it wasn't raining anymore; the sound was blocked out as Annabeth pressed her hand against the side of my face. It was like the gods weren't over our heads during that second; there was no one else around us. All I was sure of was that I was kissing Annabeth, and I loved her enough to give anything for her.

Our foreheads were still touching when she pulled away to breathe.

"This means you love me too, right?" I asked Annabeth stupidly, while she was staring at me.

I was expecting her to roll her eyes, but it got her to smile, and that was good enough for me. "Just shut up, Seaweed Brain," she whispered.

I didn't know how long Annabeth and I stood there after that with our foreheads touching, eyes locked, and arms around each other. I wasn't aware of anything else around us, except for the fact that the moon had come out again as the clouds drifted. Bright white moonlight shone on Annabeth's eyes, making them sparkle.

The shining gray color in Annabeth's eyes was better than any shade in Calypso's magical moon lace, which I had always held onto.

I touched Annabeth's hand resting on the side of my face and gripped it. I got serious when her eyes locked into mine, and I found myself saying, "I know you kissed him to decide."

"What?"

"You had to know who you wanted… me or Luke."

Annabeth kept her eyes on me.

I asked her quietly, "Did you choose?"

Annabeth stared at me for what seemed like forever.

It felt like her eyes were saying a million things.

She finally answered me with another kiss.

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**How was that? A lot of work was put into this chapter, so I really hope you liked it. Please tell me what you thought! Review!**

**The next chapter should be up soon. Thanks to summer arriving, I'll do my best to get it up fast. Like I said before, reviews work motivational magic. ^_^ Eager to hear your thoughts. Please review!**


	16. I Regret Seeing a Glimpse of Their Pain

**I hope I got this chapter was up quicker than usual! If you liked the last one, I hope thuke fans enjoy this one. *hint hint* :)**

**And, thanks so much for all the reviews last chapter. I truly appreciate each and every one of them!**

**Also, I really have to give a special thanks to my beta, Miz636, for all the help with this chapter and for helping me co-write the dream that starts off this chapter.**

**Alright, so I'll let you guys get on with the chapter now. Please enjoy! ^_^**

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My dream started like this.

_Luke sat in the corner of the safe house, a small seven-year-old Annabeth tightly cuddled in his lap._

_As I watched Luke care for Annabeth, wrapping his arms around her as she slept, I could have sworn that this was real. But, even subconsciously, I could hear my thoughts, reminding me that this was just a dream; a vision from the past._

"_What are you doing up?" A voice came, and it only took me a second to realize it was Thalia's. "You know you need to rest."_

"_Can't sleep," Luke mumbled._

_I watched Thalia carefully take Annabeth from Luke's arm and settle her into layers of clothing in the corner, which they must have made as a bed for Annabeth. Thalia made sure Annabeth's feet were covered, and Annabeth shivered._

_My dream shifted, and I saw Luke and Thalia sitting outside the exact same safe house Annabeth, Tyson, and I had hidden from Luke in all those years ago as we searched for the Golden Fleece._

"_What have our parents ever done for us, Thalia?" Luke whispered, angrily. "What have they done for us?" he asked again, his voice rising enough that Thalia glanced at the safe house in worry, confirming that Annabeth was still sleeping, before refocusing on Luke._

_The stars above them looked faded and the early streaks of dawn marked the sky, telling me that they had been awake through the entire night. _

"_You're right, Luke," Thalia finally said. Her blue eyes looked the clearest I'd ever seen them. "The gods don't care about us. But, we can't do anything – we can't change it," Thalia said steadily. "We just have to find our own way."_

_In the dark, I could barely see their faces. But right before the image in front of me scattered and the scene shifted, I could have sworn Luke's fingers found Thalia's as they wrapped around each other's in the dark where it would never be remembered._

_It was like a silent form of a bond with nothing to back them up except for trust. Sitting there together, they understood each other. Thalia and Luke shared the same fire; the same knowledge of the gods abandoning them._

_The next time my dream steadied, Zoë stood with her bow disarmed by her side._

"_Join us," she told Thalia. "It's the only way you'll survive."_

_Thalia stood her ground firmly. "What about them?"_

_Zoë's eyes narrowed to where Thalia motioned; Luke stood holding Annabeth's hand as the small seven year old girl looked up at Luke's troubled expression, trying to understand what was happening._

"_She can come too." Zoë pointed a finger towards Annabeth._

_Luke gripped Annabeth's tiny fingers tighter in his hand, and Annabeth inched closer to Luke, grabbing a hold of his leg even though her eyes looked brave and fearless._

_For a second, Thalia stared at Luke and Annabeth._

_The color in Luke's face drained as he stared back at Thalia's expressionless features. His eyes were screaming a thousand things, but the words were stuck on his tongue._

_I found myself standing in Luke's shoes. All those years back when I had thought Annabeth was going to join the Hunters, I was on the verge of losing it the same way Luke looked now._

_Thalia turned back to look Zoë in the eyes. "I'm not leaving Luke."_

_The image blurred leaving me with nothing but voices. It was Zoë and Thalia arguing._

"_He's going to betray you one day," a voice said._

"_You're wrong," the other voice retorted. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was Thalia's. "Luke would never leave us."_

_The voices faded and everything went black._

_After that, I saw flashes of Luke and Thalia fighting monsters together and protecting Annabeth; keeping her behind them at all times as they drew their weapons. I saw clips of Thalia and Luke holding Annabeth, taking care of her, late-night conversations between the two, and even moments where there was nothing except the sound of all three of them catching their breaths near the safety of each other._

_Words flew through my head in Luke and Thalia's voices; bits and pieces of their conversations: "Stupid Gods," and "No good parents…" They cursed the gods. Strength enveloping the fear in their voices as they said, "We need to protect ourselves…we're on our own. We have to take care of Annabeth."_

_My dream blurred._

_Then, suddenly, a full scene began to play out in front of me again, and it was one I had never expected to see._

_Thalia, Luke, Annabeth, and Grover were all close to Half-Blood Hill. All four kept looking over their shoulders, fear etched onto their faces. A Cyclops larger than Tyson was running after them and would easily catch them before they got to the border to Camp at the rate all five were moving._

_They had barely managed to reach the bottom of the hill when Thalia looked over her shoulder, and it was like reality suddenly caught up with her._

_My dream froze and it was like looking through Thalia's eyes. In that split second, she made a decision._

_Her voice shook when she stopped in her tracks and called out, "Grover, get Annabeth to Camp!"_

_Grover nodded, grabbing Annabeth by the arm, and rushing up the hill as fast as his hooves would let them._

_Thalia turned to Luke, and I might have been hallucinating, but it was as if her hard face softened as she stared back into Luke's questioning blue eyes. The fierce fire in Thalia's eyes dimmed._

"_Luke, you have to go with them and protect Annabeth," Thalia said steadily. She let fear and plead leak into her words; it was a voice I had never heard her use with anyone before._

"_No, Thalia," Luke said sharply, his voice was firm. "You can't fight this thing alone. I'm not leaving you."_

"_You have to."_

"_Thalia, what are you saying -"_

"_You're closer to Annabeth than I am." Thalia said, cutting him off. There was a type of sadness in Thalia's eyes that I could never explain. It was as if she realized exactly how cruel the faith shadowing her was, and she accepted it right then and there. "She'll take losing you much harder than losing me," Thalia continued, rushing her words "Please, Luke… you need to think about Annabeth."_

_When Luke didn't move, Thalia spoke the only words that got through to him; the only words that made him comply. Thalia said, "For me." Her voice was dry. "Please, Luke… do this for me."_

_There was an ocean of regret in Luke's eyes as he tore them away from hers._

_"Thalia, you can't do this -" Luke attempted one last time._

_The Cyclops was approaching faster, and Grover had almost gotten Annabeth up the hill. _

"_There's no time!" Thalia screamed at Luke. "Listen to me!"_

"_Thalia -"_

"_You need to go!"_

_A million things might have crossed through Luke's head when he looked her in the eyes again. "I'm only doing this for you, Thalia," Luke said in a whisper just loud enough for her to hear._

"_Promise me that you'll take care of Annabeth," she said. I didn't expect it from her, but there was endless grief in her voice. _

_Luke's eyes widened when he realized the way Thalia was talking. "We're not saying goodbye," he said firmly, putting a hand on Thalia's shoulder to make her look him in the eyes. "You can distract the Cyclops. Then come back; run as fast as you can."_

_Thalia nodded._

_The two of them stood there for a moment, unable to move or speak. Their eyes were speaking words that could never have been brought to their lips. In that split second, Thalia moved, pressing her body against Luke's. She held onto him as if she was breathing her last breath and Luke didn't even have time to react before she pulled away. Tears were welled in her eyes when she opened them and Aegis activated on her wrist as she expanded her spear in her hands._

_Thalia closed her eyes tightly, concealing the tears forming in them. Once she had taken a deep breath, Thalia gave Luke one last look._

"_Go," she whispered before turning her back and preparing to fight the Cyclops._

_Luke obeyed Thalia's last request as he ran up the hill, helplessly left with nothing to do except watch as Thalia was slowly forced closer and closer to the barrier._

_Thalia was pushed back right where the borders stand when Luke called out to her, telling her to fight; that everything would be okay._

_Thalia made the mistake of following Luke's voice to look at his face. It was as if she already knew what the outcome would have been no matter what she did, and made the last move she could on her own will; she met Luke's eyes. In the distraction, the Cyclops hit her right in the chest with the club in his fist._

_Luke had taken Annabeth from Grover's arms and he held her close to his chest, as he watched Thalia fall to the ground, blood escaping her lips._

_Annabeth's eyes were full of fear as she witnessed everything that was happening in front of her. Tears were burning her gray eyes, but the same brave expression was engraved onto her face. Luke held her tighter. _

_Before Thalia could breathe her last breath, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and went right through Thalia._

_The Cyclops disintegrated from the intensity of the lightning and everything went white. Thalia's dying body became the pine tree that still stood at the border of Camp Half-Blood on Half-Blood Hill today._

_My dream shifted, and it flashed ahead to months after Thalia's sacrifice. I could see Luke sitting outside in the dark, his back perched against the trunk of Thalia's tree. The way he sat comfortably told me that he came out here a lot. _

_The lost look in his eyes turned to resentment as he stared ahead, thinking. His body stiffened. _

_Right then, Luke made a bitter vow in his anger, a vow that would change his life._

"_I promise, Thalia, that I'll make the Gods regret ever abandoning us. Turning you into a tree when you were about to die isn't enough. __They're going to pay."_

I woke up.

My fingers were clenched and my throat felt dry. Before I could even begin to process all the things I had just seen, thoughts of last night came flooding back into my head, and I found reality.

I remembered last night and Annabeth, and everything that had happened.

I found myself blocking out the dream I had just had as I dressed and left my cabin. The flashbacks I had seen floated in the back of my head, and I tried to feel like I wasn't avoiding them, but the truth was that I didn't even want to think about what I had seen or try interpreting them.

For some reason, I _knew_ that the flashbacks I had just seen was the exact dream that Thalia had seen; the dream consuming her brain enough to get her ready to see Luke again.

Walking across the camp, I tried to sort out past from present and focus on everything that was really happening. Luke had moved back into his cabin, and so far nothing chaotic had occurred. He was going to the Sword Arena again and regaining his strength. No one bothered him, and Luke didn't bother them.

It was early in the morning, and I approached the only person I felt like seeing.

Annabeth sat on the steps of her cabin, and for the first time in a very long time, she wasn't staring off thinking about her worries.

A small girl sat by Annabeth's side, and I recognized her as June, Annabeth's half-sister who had guided me through cabin six earlier in the month when I had gone to visit Annabeth.

When they saw me, I couldn't tell whose smile got me more distracted, Annabeth's or June's.

Annabeth smiled slowly. "Hey, Seaweed Brain -" she began saying before Annabeth's small half-sister interrupted.

June wore a smile stretching wider than her arms. "It's Percy!" she said excitedly.

Annabeth laughed.

As I sat down next to Annabeth on the steps, it surprised me when June jumped into my lap.

"Hi." I smiled at her.

"Did you and Annabeth kiss and make up?" June asked innocently, smiling wide.

"Umm…"

Annabeth and I glanced at each other, and I noticed Annabeth's cheeks flush.

"Annabeth usually talks about you," June continued saying, "but last night, Annabeth was smiling while she was sleeping and then this morning -"

"Alright!" Annabeth spoke before June could finish. She leaned down close and whispered something along the lines of "if you don't get to the Breakfast quickly, Patrick's going to beat you to your lucky seat" in her ear.

It did the trick. June jumped off my lap, waving frantically back at me as she raced towards the Dining Pavilion.

Once the small girl was gone, I looked at Annabeth.

"What?" Annabeth asked defensively.

Even though I couldn't help but smile, I decided to drop it. There were going to be plenty more opportunities for me to innocently bring up the things June had told me about.

"Nothing." I leaned back on the steps, taking Annabeth's hand in mine from her lap where it had been resting. Our fingers laced through each others.

I noticed that Annabeth was smiling and it was like a burden had been lifted off of her brain. She wasn't distracted, and that was good enough for me. We were talking and doing a great job avoiding anything about Luke or last night until I had to open my big mouth.

"So…" I said when easy silence dwelled between us. "We're on the same page about Luke now, right?"

"In June's words, Percy, just because we '_kissed and made up'_ last night," Annabeth said playfully, "it doesn't mean I think you were right about Luke."

I tried to accept that, and Annabeth touched her foot to mine on the steps.

"Luke's not bad," she said. "He just…tried to fix things the wrong way. I – I forgive him."

I met Annabeth's eyes, and it was like we both realized that it was the first time Annabeth had said that she truly forgave him. It was a big step for her, and for some reason, I understood that.

I still found myself sighing as I sat up forward on the steps. "So…we didn't really resolve anything last night, did we?"

She tightened her fingers through my hand. "Percy, last night…when you said you loved me…" Annabeth said, her voice was soft and she stared ahead. "I realized that it was different."

I looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… when you said it, I realized that the way I felt was different from how I feel about Luke."

I tried to understand what she was saying, and Annabeth met my eyes.

"And… um, when I kissed Luke…" Annabeth said, knowing that I would hate this conversation. She continued carefully, "It wasn't anything like when _you_ kiss me."

"So…you mean that you don't _like_ him?" I asked.

Annabeth nodded slowly, as if she was accepting it for the first time herself. "I don't," she said quietly. "He was just…he was like someone I just needed to get over." Annabeth almost laughed absently. "Kissing him felt like I kissed my older brother or something."

It was like in that moment I was reminded of exactly all the trust that Annabeth and I shared, and I hated myself for ever doubting it.

Annabeth smiled again and everything was finally _right_. The sun was shining brightly outside, melting the snow around the borders, and the wet air from the storm last night mixed with the sun's rays to form a faded rainbow stretching across the sky.

I found myself laughing. "So… is what June said true?"

Annabeth looked anywhere but at me. "What?"

"She said you were dreaming about me and smiling in your sleep."

Her cheeks flushed again. "Shut up, Percy." Annabeth shoved me lightly. "I wasn't! And besides… she said nothing about me dreaming of you."

"But you were, right?" I said, knowing it would annoy her. It wasn't often that anything embarrassed Annabeth, and this was something amusing.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, letting me have my fun. "Why don't you tell me what _you_ were dreaming about last night, Seaweed Brain."

As I thought about it, the tension must have been evident on my face as I remembered the memories of my dreams, because Annabeth stopped smiling as she stared at me.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I don't know…" I told her honestly. "It's just…weird dreams again."

Concern began drawing on Annabeth's face. She asked me, "What'd you see?"

"I saw…" For the first time that morning, I truly let myself understand the point of my dreams. "I saw Thalia and Luke."

"What?" Annabeth asked in surprise.

I found myself scooting up closer to her on the steps. I thought for a minute before asking her, "Do you ever think about Thalia and Luke? Like… what was between them before Thalia turned into a tree?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

Before I had time to answer her and tell her what was really on my mind or about my dreams, screaming was heard in the distance. It sounded like two people were shouting at each other, and Annabeth and I exchanged glances. The voices were familiar to both of us.

We jumped off of the steps and went towards the voices. A few other campers had stopped to see what the commotion was.

When Annabeth and I finally saw who the two people were, I couldn't tell which one of us was more alarmed.

Standing there, in the center of the field was Thalia. Her fingers were clenched and her eyes carried the most flames I had ever seen in them.

In front of her, Luke stood completely defenselessly, trying to speak to her.

Immediately I knew that Luke had found a way to try and talk to Thalia, and that this wasn't going to end well. These past days, with Luke free to walk around camp, Thalia had been avoiding him. And now they stood face to face.

I zoned into what Thalia was saying, her voice raised high. "And Annabeth?" Thalia asked with pure anger in her voice as she glared at Luke with fire in her eyes. "You just _left_ her. After you promised to keep her safe, Luke! You just left! You betrayed her -"

"I did it for you, Thalia!" Luke said, loud enough to tower Thalia's voice. It was as if the two of them didn't even realize that they were being surrounded by people. "You don't know what I went through, Thalia." It was like, for a second, even _I_ could read the evident pain in his voice.

Thalia stepped closer to Luke like she was ready to hit him. "Do you know what I went through?" she asked, looking Luke right in the eyes. "Do you know what it was like coming back to life and finding out you were gone? Finding out that you left Annabeth… that you were with _Kronos_?"

Thalia's voice had gotten hard, and it felt like her eyes were filling with more and more fire after every word she spoke to Luke. "You were supposed to be there for, Annabeth!" Thalia said, "Not become her enemy!"

It surprised me that Luke could hold his stare against Thalia's glare. He stood his ground just as stubbornly as she did. "The gods abandoned you; I needed to make them pay," he said. "I did it for _you_, Thalia," Luke repeated. The words came out deep, making Thalia listen for a second, her anger ebbing away.

But then she caught herself, the same anger she wore just moments ago returning to her face. "You did it to escape your problems, Luke. Joining the Titans was just a stupid excuse to run away!"

"You did the same thing. You're no stronger than I could have been."

Thalia glared at him, her fiery blue eyes ready to strike electricity. She clenched her jaw. "What are you talking about?"

They had gotten right in each other's face. More campers were stopping now at the sound of their voices. Annabeth and I exchanged nervous glances. Seeing how involved the two were in their argument, their eyes flaming unable to notice anyone around them, we both knew that it would have been suicide to step in between them.

"You joined the hunters, Thalia," Luke stated, a strange tone hidden in his voice. "You're just running away from your problems too."

"I'm not running -" Thalia tried to say, but she stopped, and Luke knew that he gotten her.

"Is that really what you want?" he asked her.

"Just stop, Luke."

"To be on the hunt…always running," Luke continued, and it was like he was the only person who could stand against her anger. His eyes were no less fiery than Thalia's. "Watching your friends grow old and die in front of you. Is that really what you want?"

"_Shut up_!" Thalia said. "You don't understand anything, Luke! You weren't there. You have no idea why I joined them!"

"You're throwing you're life away!" Luke matched her voice. In the heat of their words, they didn't even realize how close they were stepping. Their noses might have bumped. "Don't you remember all those years ago when you could have joined them but you didn't, Thalia? It was because you knew back then…you knew that you would just be running away from everything; just throwing your life away."

Thalia swallowed hard. If I knew her at all, I knew that Luke was saying exactly what Thalia had feared to accept as the truth. "You don't _know_ anything," Thalia said loudly through gritted teeth. Her voice was close to cracking and her icy blue eyes were sparking.

"Why did you join them now?" Luke asked.

"Just stop it, Luke -"

"I know you remember, Thalia." Luke said, stepping closer. The fire between their eyes as they stared at each other with so much anger and question was too great to break. "I know you remember all those times we would talk. All the times you would agree with me."

"You're wrong, Luke. Just…_stop_ talking." Thalia looked ready to walk way, but she stood her ground in front of him. It was as if all the anguish in Luke's eyes was like a magnet keeping Thalia's eyes glued to his.

Luke continued talking, and Thalia kept shutting him up. His voice was easily towering Thalia's now.

"Why won't you just listen to me, Thalia?" Luke shouted.

"I'm done, Luke!" Thalia screamed. "You made the wrong choices."

"I know what I did." Luke said through his teeth, "_Please_. Just listen to me, Thalia!"

"Stop, Luke!"

They were screaming on the top of their lungs now. Thalia's voice sounded like it could have cracked, even though she kept it hard and steady. Luke didn't care anymore; he had dropped every last ounce of his self dignity to stand in front of Thalia and hear her criticism, her hatred towards him for everything her had put her through; he had dropped his self respect to plead in front of her just to get her to hear him out once.

"Just listen, Thalia!"

Thalia's eyes glossed over in what I couldn't tell were either tears in her fury or defeat. "It's over, Luke!" she said, but Luke stood just as hardheadedly as Thalia.

"Listen to me!"

It was like Thalia had finally reached her limit. She got right in his face. "Make me, Luke."

The next thing that happened made me freeze in disbelief and shock.

Luke grabbed Thalia's face in his hand and brought his lips to hers, making her quiet. He kissed her.

Right in front of us, Thalia suddenly aged. She had always had eyes that looked like they carried the burden of hundred years, so I never really noticed the fact that Thalia was still in her sixteen-year-old body.

But with her lips still on Luke's, his hands stuck in her hair, Thalia grew taller, her face changing.

When Luke finally pulled away, Thalia stared at him with endless hurt.

He had broken her hunter's oath, and now Thalia stood completely unarmed in the center of the field. She was just an inch shorter than Luke now, and even though her face was changed and older now, I could still easily recognize her. She was the same Thalia.

Thalia was breathing hard, and it was as if someone had just yanked the world out from underneath her feet.

Luke looked as if he couldn't believe what had happened or what he had just done.

When Thalia finally gathered herself again and looked towards Luke, there were flames in her eyes that I couldn't explain. I thought she was going to kill him. Instead, she blinked back the tears and kissed Luke again hard enough to draw blood to his lips.

It was like she put everything she had; everything she had ever felt into the kiss. The anger escaping through her lips.

They were both breathing hard when they pulled away, the taste of blood on their lips.

Then, Thalia kissed him again.

* * *

***Peeks out from behind hands* Was that good? This chapter has been tweaked ****continuously****, and I _really_ hope it turned out well. Please tell me what you thought!**

**Sadly, I see this story coming to an end very soon. The next chapter might be the last, but I can't say that for sure yet. I'll see where the reviews take me, and I'll go from there. ^_^**

**Please review! It means so much. **


	17. I Don't Regret All We've Been Through

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the long wait in getting this up, but here it is. It saddens me to say that this is the last chapter of this sequel.**

**As always, thanks to my beta, Miz636.**

**I really hope you enjoy.**

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"Hermes visited the camp," Chiron told me. "He's aware of Luke's presence here."

I looked at Chiron as we sat across from each other at the meeting table in the Big House. "So, the gods know?"

"Not quite," Chiron said, adjusting his wheel chair. "As far as I can tell, it is only Hermes who knows."

I was about to speak when Chiron added, "However, I'm almost positive that this news will easily be delivered to the gods sooner than we expect, my boy. Kronos is gone," Chiron stated. "Luke isn't causing anymore harm. Perhaps Hermes can convince the Council of the gods that Luke is innocent and have his son's life spared."

I sighed, realizing for the first time that the resentment inside me was gone. If I had been having this same conversation just a few days ago, I would have been on the edge of my seat hoping the gods would take action and punish Luke for everything he had done. But it was different now, and I wasn't crossing my fingers for Luke's suffering.

I nodded, finding myself staring at the table. "So…any news about my father?" I asked.

"He still stands his ground against Lady Athena," Chiron told me. "At this rate…we can only pray that there isn't another war. The only guarantee to prevent such things would be if you and Annabeth stayed apart."

I met Chiron's eyes, which seemed older than ever. They were carrying the burden of a thousand years, and I tried to take in what he was saying. But then, a slow smile formed on his face. "However, if I know you and Annabeth at all," he said, "I think it's safe to say that won't be happening."

I found myself returning his smile as I nodded, confirming what he said. There was no way Annabeth and I were going to stay apart after everything we had been through.

"I take it your mom will want you back home in a couple of days," Chiron said as if it was a question.

"Yeah," I told him. "But, I'll be back in the summer. I promise."

...

As I walked out of the Big House, I was on my way to go see Annabeth when something caught my eye.

It was Grover talking with Juniper at the edge of the woods. I remembered the look on Grover's face every time he told me Juniper was ignoring him, and now, as he sat by her side, he looked happier than ever.

It might have been the empathy link, but Grover finally noticed that I was waving him over and he excused himself from Juniper to come over to me.

"What do you need, Percy?" Grover bleated when he approached me. "I'm in the middle of something!"

"I can see that, man," I said, smiling. "Did you fix things with you and Juniper?"

"Yes, Percy!" Grover told me quickly, obviously in a hurry to get back. "You're ruining the moment!"

"Wait," I said before he could turn back. "Aren't you going to tell me what was wrong with her?"

Grover brushed me off in his rush. "I'll tell you later," he mumbled, before incoherently adding, "her tree was hurt but it's fine now…and - it's complicated, Percy!"

I laughed. "Alright, G-man. It's just nice to see you guys back together."

Grover smiled back at me before making it halfway back to his girlfriend. "Thanks, Percy."

Leaving with a sight of Grover and Juniper happily enjoying each other's company, I walked through the camp looking for Annabeth.

I found myself pausing when I heard her voice coming from inside a cabin. The door was left open, and I could hear another girl's muffled voice speaking from inside.

Without really thinking, I walked up the steps to see that Annabeth was sitting on the edge of a bunk and the girl in front of her was Thalia.

The day that Luke had broken her hunter's oath, Thalia had walked away from him after everything that happened. She left him standing on the fields with nothing but one last look of betrayal in her eyes and the taste of her lips on his. No one had seen Luke or Thalia talk to each other since then.

I zoned back in and realized that Annabeth and Thalia were engaged in a deep conversation.

I shifted on my feet and Annabeth glanced up at me for a second as if to notice I was in the room, but she barely acknowledged me, turning back to speak with Thalia. "What are you talking about?" Annabeth was saying. "Why did you kiss him, Thalia?"

"I… I wasn't thinking," Thalia managed to get out through her teeth.

Annabeth's eyes looked hard, filled with a million questions, but she leaned forward to comfort Thalia. "Would you take it back?" she asked.

For a second, Thalia looked hesitant. It was like the question had left her mind spinning. "I - I don't know, Annabeth," Thalia finally choked out, and I realized that I had never seen her this way before. For the first time, Thalia wasn't concealed behind the thick barrier that hid her. "I don't even know what happened," she said. "It was like… when Luke was talking to me - no one has ever talked to me like that. It was like he could see right through me, Annabeth."

Annabeth straightened, taking a breath. "It's alright, Thalia. You can fix this. You need to talk to Luke."

Thalia stared at the wall absently. "Fix what?"

"If you talk to Lady Artemis, maybe she'll understand," Annabeth said. "You've always been loyal to the hunters, Thalia… that has to count for something, right? If you really didn't mean to kiss Luke, then -"

I couldn't see Thalia's face but her voice was voice was drowned in a tone I could never understand when she spoke. "It doesn't work that way," she told Annabeth. "The oath doesn't break by touch."

"What do you mean?"

Thalia's voice was unreadable when she spoke. She swallowed hard. "The oath only breaks if you feel love."

There was a look in Annabeth's eyes that I would never forget as she stared back at Thalia. When Annabeth spoke, her voice was dry. "What?"

When Thalia didn't answer, Annabeth reached forward, putting her hand on Thalia's shoulder to make her meet Annabeth's questioning gray eyes. "Thalia, what are you saying?"

Thalia stood up abruptly. Her expression told me that she was in just as much confusion and shock with herself as Annabeth was in. Thalia had never looked the way she did now. Besides the fact that she looked older now, I had never seen her so tense and confused before.

For a second, Thalia acknowledged that I was in the room and her eyes locked into mine. I tried to give Thalia a message; I tried to say anything I could to tell her that I understood her. But the truth was that I wasn't even close to understanding all the pain behind Thalia's electric blue eyes. I wasn't sure if anyone ever could.

Thalia broke her gaze to stare at the wall. The same strength I had come to know her for was back in her voice when she spoke again. "Whatever happened is done," Thalia said, accepting it.

"Thalia, what do you mean -"Annabeth stated saying, but then she saw the look I was giving her and stopped. It was like Annabeth suddenly understood that Thalia needed her now more than ever.

Annabeth stood up and approached Thalia. Before we left the cabin, Annabeth gave her a hug. They had shared memories of years of friendship and now, even though so much had changed, they were still here to take care of each other. Annabeth whispered something along the lines of "I'm here for you… whatever you decide about Luke," in her ear.

I couldn't see Thalia's face when Annabeth gave her one last meaningful smile, before joining me in exiting the cabin.

Once we were outside and halfway across the fields, I looked over at Annabeth.

She was staring off, and it was like a million things were crossing through her mind.

We stopped by the lake, and I asked Annabeth, "What's bothering you?"

She shook her head. "Nothing." But even she knew now that I wasn't going to buy that.

Annabeth sighed, spilling her thoughts. "It's just that... Thalia and Luke. I just never thought - I never thought that there was so much between them, you know?"

"But, you were always with them, right?" I asked.

"I know, Percy... but I was _seven_," Annabeth told me. "Back then I didn't understand - I didn't even notice that Thalia and Luke ever had anything. I can't even remember..."Annabeth trailed off.

The sun was shining brightly on the side of Annabeth's face, and I tried to understand what she was saying. Annabeth had always held onto Luke, and now he was on his knees for Thalia, and Thalia was more distraught than ever. Even though it was like destiny had to catch up with them sometime, Annabeth hadn't seen it coming.

"You weren't expecting it," I supplied for her.

Annabeth met my eyes. For a second, she stared at me and it was like she was reevaluating her problems in life. It surprised me when she stepped closer, lacing her fingers through mine. She nodded. "It's just...it's new for me," she admitted. "It'll just take me time to get used to."

...

It was later in the day when Annabeth and I had joined everyone in the center of camp. I didn't realize what was happening until I saw Chiron in his centaur form, standing at the front and someone else by his side. It was Lady Artemis.

I could see Luke among the campers that had gathered around as if this was a ceremony. Calypso was standing by Luke's side.

Thalia stood with the rest of the hunters, and for a second, it surprised me to see her in the same area as Luke, but then I realized that something much bigger was going on.

Thalia approached the goddess of the Hunt and knelt down on her knees at the goddess' feet.

Artemis's eyes were clear; not resentful nor disappointed. It was as if she had seen through Thalia a long time ago and accepted the destiny that Thalia had followed. It was like even Artemis knew that love wasn't anyone's fault.

"You have broken your oath," Artemis stated. The talk among the campers died out as the goddess spoke, making Thalia's position among the Hunt official. "You have fallen for one of your old friends."

Thalia kept her head down. She was biting her lip so hard that I thought it might have bled. "I'm sorry, My Lady," Thalia said, barely loud enough to hear.

I found myself looking up towards Luke, who stood just feet away. His eyes were stuck to Thalia, and it was like, at the moment, he wasn't even able to comprehend what Artemis was really saying. He looked shocked.

"There is no need to apologize." Artemis spoke firmly. "You have remained loyal to the hunt these past years. I cannot blame you for this sudden fate that has shown itself."

Thalia kept her eyes at her feet as the goddess spoke.

"Stand up, Thalia Grace," Artemis said. When Thalia rose, the goddess placed her hands on Thalia's shoulders like a blessing. "From this day, you are no longer a part of this Hunt. You are freed from the oath."

Thalia took a sharp breath. I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing changed. The goddess breathed, removing her hands, and Thalia bowed to her lady one last time before stepping among the campers.

"It saddens me, however, that I am now one lieutenant short," Artemis announced. "I have consulted with the gods and I bring forth an offer for someone among this camp if she accepts."

Annabeth and I exchanged glances in confusion.

I wasn't expecting it when Artemis spoke. "Calypso," she said, "Daughter of Atlas, will you join the Hunt?"

Calypso's eyes widened. "Me?"

Artemis gave a nod. "You have suffered an unbelievable fate. Perhaps you could become of need in the hunt; put your powers to use."

Calypso looked as if she had been caught completely off guard. "I - I don't know what to say..." Calypso stuttered.

She glanced at the hunters and then at the campers around her. All eyes were on Calypso. Artemis spoke again. "We can give you a home," the goddess said, "somewhere to belong. However, there are responsibilities that with come with it. Consider well."

For a second, Calypso stared absently towards the sun. It was as if a million things were crossing through her brain. She would have a home again, immortality, sisters… Calypso opened her mouth in the temptation. "I accept -"

"Wait!" I found myself saying, interrupting her.

I didn't know where it came from, but a feeling inside me was seriously telling me that something wasn't right.

I could feel Chiron's questioning eyes on me as campers' heads turned to look and whispers sounded through the crowd. Annabeth squeezed my hand. "Percy," she mumbled to me, "what are you doing?"

I found myself stepping forward to Calypso, pulling her to the side despite all the eyes on us. "Is this really what you want?" I asked her.

Calypso looked at me, seeing the concern on my face. She nodded, determination filling her almond-colored eyes. "Yes, Percy, it is."

"Don't do this because you feel like you don't have anywhere else to go," I told her. "You can stay here... you know you're welcome here."

Calypso smiled. "I know. You've given me that, Percy. I'll never forget it." She looked towards the hunters. "But perhaps... this is what I was meant to do. Maybe I can become of use in the hunt. I can help."

I found myself staring at her. "Are you sure?" I asked her again, my eyes searching through hers. I didn't know what she was thinking, but then her eyes locked into mine and I realized something. Calypso had seen men come and go, always betraying her. She had given her trust to me, and I had left her. Standing there, Calypso was ready to turn her back on betrayal, on men. She was done.

Calypso smiled; her eyes didn't carry the resentment I thought they would. "I am sure, my brave one." I realized it was the first time she had called me that since last summer, and I felt like I truly understood her. "Thank you," she whispered to me. "You brought me here, and I believe this is what I was meant to do."

I realized that all eyes were on us and that Annabeth had come to stand next to me through all the commotion. Calypso stepped forward and kissed me on my cheek, despite Annabeth's glare. It surprised me even more when she walked towards Luke and kissed his forehead the way she had done to me the when I had left Ogygia. Luke had her blessing.

When she pulled away, she whispered something in Luke's ear, something only he could hear. Luke's eyes seemed questioning when she stepped away, giving him one last look: a smile.

Calypso knelt before Lady Artemis, reciting the oath that would forever change her. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."

...

That evening, I found myself standing on Half Blood Hill, looking down at the camp. So much had happened this winter, and my mind wasn't even able to wrap around it. Annabeth and I had come up here just to visit, and it turned into a battle between us and our faith.

I was so involved, standing there trying to take in everything that had happened, that I didn't even realize that someone had come up behind me.

"What are you doing up here, Seaweed Brain?" I didn't need to turn to know that it was Annabeth.

"I'm just… I'm thinking about everything," I admitted.

I couldn't see Annabeth's face, but her voice was unreadable when she asked, "Are you thinking about Calypso?"

I turned to look at her. "I'm glad she joined the Hunt," I told Annabeth, honestly. "She'll be happy there."

Annabeth nodded absently, the look in her eyes told me that she understood where I was coming from.

"You know, Thalia's going to be staying at camp now," Annabeth told me. "At least until she figures out what she wants to do."

"And Luke?" I asked.

"I guess he's staying here too."

A slow silence dwelled between us before Annabeth spoke again. "Listen, Percy," she said, "I just came up here to ask you something really fast."

I turned my attention to her as she stood in front of me. I asked her, "What is it?"

Annabeth looked down toward the other side of the hill, past the camp's borders. The snow had lightened, leaving only a thin sheet of ice on the grass. The roads had cleared and cars were passing by slowly below.

"I was thinking… that I missed out on a really great Christmas with your family this year, and I was wondering if…" I touched Annabeth's fingers and they laced through mine. I could see her bracelet dangling gracefully on her wrist, and her gray eyes looked clearer than ever. It was like I could count every shade in them.

I found myself smiling. "What?"

Annabeth's eyes locked onto mine. "I was wondering if the offer to stay over at your place for the holidays still stands."

The thought of getting to be with Annabeth for a little longer seemed to make all my problems go away. For a second, I couldn't even remember what I was thinking about just a minute ago.

"Is it okay with your dad?"

"I talked to him this morning," Annabeth told me. "He thinks it's a good idea. My school doesn't get off break for a couple more weeks. If it's okay with your mom, then -"

"Yeah, it's fine," I said a little bit too quickly, realizing that I didn't even let Annabeth finish. "I mean… yeah, she'll be really happy to see you."

Annabeth smiled.

I tried to say something, but I found myself getting distracted by Annabeth's face just inches away from mine. My ADHD wasn't helping the fact that Annabeth's hair was dangling down her shoulders, curling in blonde locks at just the ends, making her look more beautiful than ever.

I was about to kiss her when something down the hill caught my eye. Annabeth followed my gaze to look further down where Thalia's tree stood on the borders. Two figures were standing in the distance. It was Luke and Thalia.

I realized that this must have been the first time they were talking since their scene right in the middle of camp. I didn't know what they were saying, but behind them the sun was setting, enveloping them in shadows.

Thalia's arms were crossed as she stared off towards the road, and Luke was saying something to her. When Thalia finally brought her face to look at Luke, it was as if the two stood there with their eyes locked forever. Thalia said something to him that I couldn't make out, and I knew the two were talking things out.

I wasn't expecting it when I saw Thalia step forward, uncrossing her arms and allowing herself to lean on Luke. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her. It was like, for the first time, Thalia had given her burden to someone else; she had let herself go in Luke's arms. Her head was on Luke's chest, and it was as if he could hold onto her for eternity.

The barrier between them was broken as they shared a hug, completely unaware of the sun sinking into the horizon behind them.

Annabeth was smiling the next time I looked at her. "They're going to be okay," she whispered.

I nodded slowly, and for some reason I honestly believed it.

"Another thing…" I said, remembering.

"What?"

"Our parents," I told her. "I talked to Chiron this morning. They're still fighting, and if it doesn't stop… there could be another war."

I knew that his wasn't the best time to bring up the dreaded news, but knew that I had to tell her sooner or later. The distress was evident on her face, but then she looked up at me with clear eyes. "I don't care," she said firmly.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Our parents can fight all they want to above our heads, Percy," Annabeth said. "I don't care anymore. All I know is that… I'm not leaving you."

I tried to take in what Annabeth was saying, and she stepped closer to me, our fingers laced together. Annabeth said, "I felt… Percy, this winter, I felt what it would be like to be far away from you. I almost let you go because of Luke." Her voice was shaky. "I never want to feel that again."

I tightened my fingers around hers. I leaned forward to kiss her, when she turned her head away from me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Wait…" she said, "there's one more thing I have to tell you."

I waited for her to continue and Annabeth looked like she was trying to form words. I had never seen her so uneasy, but when she spoke, her eyes were staring right into mine, and I knew she truly meant it. "I just wanted to make sure you know, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, pausing, "that I love you too."

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**_The End_**

-smiles- I really hope you enjoyed this last chapter and the whole story over all! I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who stuck with me through the very first story and now this sequel. Also, a big thanks to Miz for helping me throughout this and for providing the idea to make this story possible. The goal for these two stories was to show Calypso and Luke- two of the most hated characters- in a positive light, and I hope I somewhat succeeded. If you like these two characters even just _a little_ better, it would make me happy. ^_^

As for a sequel for this story…everything up in the air right now. I'm not sure if there will be one or not, but information will be updated on my profile. I'd greatly accept any suggestion/ideas or your opinions on a sequel that you might have, though.

I'd absolutely love to hear what you thought of this last chapter and the whole story. I hope this wraps everything up. ^_^

Please review. It would mean so much to me.


	18. Extra's

**It's good to be posting another chapter to this story again. ^_^ But, before you start reading, I think I should say that this is an "Extra" for the story. A lot of you wanted to see more thuke in the last chapter, and my beta, Miz636, had a great idea in her head of the small thuke scene at the end of chapter 17 in Thalia's POV. So, here it is. **

**(Also, there may be one more extra coming of a scene in this story from another person's POV. If there is a certain scene in this sequel that you want to see in someone else's POV, such as when Annabeth kisses Luke, for example, make sure you mention it in a review, and I'll see if I can write it. ^_^) **

**Please note that the scene below is written solely by Miz636, and I had strict instructions not to change a word. :) Also, look for a Author's Note from her at the end. **

**I hope you enjoy what she came up with. ^_^ **

**-Percabeth777**

**

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**

_By: Miz636_

**Chapter Seventeen, Thuke Outtake, Thalia's POV**

I walked down the hill to my tree, my mind still unable to comprehend that I wasn't in the Hunt anymore.

Calypso had just left in my old position with Lady Artemis and the others a few minutes ago. It had hurt badly, but I had to say goodbye to the girls that had followed my lead for so many years before they left me behind at a camp that just didn't feel like home to me; I had only lived here for six months or so before joining the Hunt.

Staring out at the road, the sun sinking lower and lower in front of me, my own tree to my left, I wrapped my arms around my body, wishing that it would stop the pain of everything that had happened in these past two weeks, in my life, even if it was just for a little bit.

Sighing sadly, I leaned lightly against my tree, taking comfort from the connection between my life before Luke's betrayal and my life now; it was the one thing that reminded me of my past without it being memories or people.

I just stared out at the road, the dying sunlight warming my face ever so slightly in its dying rays. The only sounds were the rustling of leaves and dead grass that was barely covered in snow on this side of the border. My mind was almost completely blank; I didn't want to think of the single person who was causing me so many problems, so much pain and anguish: Luke.

As if thinking the name brought him to me, I heard soft footsteps crunching on the little snow inside of camp. Without even looking, I knew it was Luke. Who else would it be?

Pushing myself off my tree, I continued to face the road. Only my standing up straight and my arms switching from holding my chest to crossed over my chest showed that I knew he was there; I didn't want to say anything right now.

I was about to tell him to leave when Annabeth's advice from earlier in the cabin ran through my mind. _"You can fix this. You need to talk to Luke."_

Sighing internally, I realized that the friend five years my junior was right; she was definitely a daughter of Athena.

So I didn't move from my place by my tree; instead, I continued to look out at the road, trying so very hard not to turn even slightly as it would send a message to Luke I didn't want him to have. Most wouldn't see it that way, but Luke and I had always been able to talk without actually speaking if it was small things; whole conversations had to be done in words.

Finally, his footsteps stopped only ten feet away from me. He wasn't in my line of sight at the moment, but I knew that if I turned even the slightest, I'd be able to see him.

"Thalia," he whispered, his voice pleading. I didn't say anything, so he continued. "Please, Thalia, can you say something? Please, Thalia?"

"What is there to say?" I asked, my voice hard with even a hint of harshness slipping in.

Luke fell silent after he heard that; we both knew I had nothing to say right now. Lady Artemis had said it best when she had said I had fallen for one of my old friends; Luke already had his confirmation that I loved him. All he had to do now was find a way to redeem himself, though I had to admit that I wanted was the truth, the whole truth; Luke had never given me that properly.

We both stood there in complete silence for the longest time, neither of us moving. Luke was staring at the ground while I was staring past the road to the sun that was halfway behind the trees across the road. I had no idea how long we both had been standing there, let alone how long I had been there alone.

Just as I was about to turn around and head back up the hill to camp, Luke spoke.

"Thalia," he said softly, as if afraid I wouldn't listen to him; he was wrong as I wanted to hear what he had to say, but any more crap and I'd turn around and leave him standing there alone. "I know I've hurt you, betrayed you, and anything else you want to say I did."

He had that right, in my opinion. Finding out he had joined Kronos and was against the gods had been one of the toughest things to hear from Annabeth and Chiron that first day outside of my tree. I had been so overwhelmed, but hearing that had sent me over the edge; the life I had known before had been crushed the moment I had heard that one answer to my question about Luke.

"But I did it for you," he finished as I let those thoughts slide in and out of my head while listening to him. I could hear him shifting on his feet slightly and feel his eyes on me as I digested what he had just said.

He claimed he had done all of that for me? Why in the world did he go against the gods that badly just for me? Luke had always been bitter towards the gods, I would admit, but not so much that he'd try to tear Mount Olympus down brick-by-brick. Something was missing from all of this, and I needed to hear it from Luke himself what it was.

"_For me_?" I finally questioned; it came out as a half-snarl. "What the Hades do you mean by you did it all for _me_?" Luke didn't answer for a minute as he tried to figure out how to put it; I gave him the time as I wanted it truthful and well thought-out.

"Kronos used my anger at the gods, and more importantly, my anger over your death to win me over," Luke admitted finally, surprising me by his words, but I stayed silent and he continued. "Once I was in, I was in too deep and couldn't get out. No one would have been able to save me once I had joined."

Luke sighed a sigh that was a mix of anger, sadness, and regret before continuing. "Everything has always been about you for me, Thalia."

That statement confused me. He had done everything for me? Everything he did was for me, about me? How was that possible? How was that true? How in Hades had I not seen it?

"When my loyalty faltered, Kronos reminded me of _you_, Thalia, _you_," Luke continued as my mind went to war with itself. His words were only giving more push to the side of me that wanted to believe him, that wanted to trust him again, that wanted to give in to him; it was the side that wanted to love him with my entire heart.

"After the Fleece brought you out of the tree, Kronos began threatening you to make me obey when I showed any hesitation. If I had known he was going to do that, I wouldn't have brought you out of your tree here; the idea of him hurting you was like a stab in the heart."

I actually heard Luke take a deep breath that seemed to be fighting past a lump in his throat; he was close to tears over his memories and what had happened. All of this was scaring me, yet a part of me wanted to hear this, to believe this. Something in me just knew that he wasn't lying; he truly had been threatened by Kronos to do his bidding when his loyalty faltered, and I had been the victim.

"I truly didn't want to hurt you, Thalia." Luke's voice was full of withheld tears that were fighting to break free as he spoke. "Kronos used my feelings for you against me, Thalia."

I took a deep, shaky breath as I listened to this, my mind telling me that he was lying while my heart was saying this was directly from his heart. He truly had been used in a way I had never seen, and it was getting harder not to see him as a willing victim in all of this.

"I've always loved you on some level, Thalia, and I always will, no matter what the obstacles or consequences," Luke stated in a choked voice.

Finally giving into the urge, I turned ever so slightly to my right, my arms still crossed over my chest, and looked at Luke out of the corner of my eye. He had a single tear slipping down his face while his blue eyes were moist. I didn't move anymore, but that single movement had him wiping the tear from his cheek and drying his eyes; he didn't want to cry in front of me.

"All that I know is that you're my life, always have been, and always will be, Thalia," Luke said with conviction as his face told me that he meant every word. Watching him, I could see a spark of fire in his eyes again; it was a fire of determination I had seen so many years ago, which felt like a lifetime ago, when we had been on the road together.

I closed my eyes tightly, taking a deep breath as I did so. After hearing that, how did I reply to him, how did I respond? What he had said was from the heart; I just knew it in my own heart. No matter how hard I tried to fight against my heart with my mind, my heart had almost won; I only had a very slight doubt now that Luke was lying and evil, that he couldn't be changed.

Thinking about it, I knew I had to respond to him from my heart, but I just didn't know how to. My heart was in complete turmoil, and I just didn't know what would be true to my heart. Everything in my life had changed back when I had been drawn out of my tree by the Fleece, but it had all changed again when I thought Luke had died in the battle. Unfortunately, my life had taken yet another turn in these past two weeks, and all of the turns were messing me up so much that I just couldn't find the real me anymore, let alone someone else finding me.

The only thing that came to my mind was what Luke had said back in the arena, the one thing that had hit me the hardest. _"You joined the hunters, Thalia. You're just running away from your problems too."_

That once fact had hit me so hard that day, the last time we had talked. The reason it had hit me so hard was because he had been right; I had been using the hunters to run away from everything in my life, especially _him_.

Luke had always been the person who could read me, who understood me, but that one time it had hurt more than anything else, _because he was right._

I turned to stare into his blue eyes that seemed to go on forever. Staring into them, I could see into his very soul, into his very being. Seeing that showed me that I needed to say what I was going to say; he earned it.

"You're right," I said softly, both to what he had said just now and what he had said days ago in the arena, finally admitting it to myself and aloud. I knew now what I had to say now; it was something I just had to say.

"You did do a lot of thing to me that hurt, but you were also right that day in the arena when you said I had used the Hunters to run." I took a deep breath before I continued, finally admitting everything to Luke at the same time as admitting it to myself.

"I was running from my past, the pain, the fear, the betrayal, and _you_." The last thing was the hardest to say, but I had to get it out, even as I saw Luke flinch ever so slightly at my words.

Staring deep into his blue eyes that were like oceans in a way that fit him but were unlike Percy's eyes, which I knew Annabeth described as sea-green oceans, I tried to get my thoughts together so that I could say what I was feeling, what I just _knew_ even though I had a hard time putting it to words. Sometimes, saying something aloud was admitting it to myself, which made it that much harder to say it. What I was about to say was probably the hardest thing I was going to say in this entire conversation.

"It was me being weak and stopping the fight I had never stopped before," I admitted slowly, truly not wanting to admit it as it showed a side of me no one had ever seen before; not even Luke had gotten _this_far before. "Never before have I just given up when faced with pain, sorrow, a tough time, or a fight. Turning my back on it all… it was me running away from it, and it just isn't me."

"It had gotten to be too much," Luke muttered softly as I stopped talking, unable to explain it anymore.

"Yeah," I agreed softly while staring at the light blue streaks in his slightly darker-blue eyes, realizing for the first time that Luke understood where I was coming from up to a point; both of us had been left behind and ran because of it, just in very different ways.

I knew I had to keep going, but trying to figure out what to say was hard. Fighting against my instinct to keep all but the unimportant information close to my heart, I forced out my next words, knowing that the ones before had been tougher.

"You've always meant something to me, Luke," I informed him softly, making his eyes widen ever so slightly, though they never wavered from my own. "You've always been something for me. Unfortunately, that was the problem." Luke's blue eyes went a shade darker in confusion, so I knew I had to elaborate for him.

"I got scared, Luke," I admitted softly, the look in his eyes convincing me to keep talking despite my instincts; his eyes showed his shock at my statement as I would never normally admit something like that to_anyone_, but I knew I just had to trust him.

"I've never let anyone into that part of me before," I said, my voice a bit stronger. "You got to a level no one has ever seen before, and it scared me. Having someone see that scared me, yet I wanted you there. I wanted to have you see the true me, but I never let you see it all before the Cyclops incident, and I never would have let you in after that."

Luke was still staring into my eyes, the emotions clear in them. He was shocked by my words, saddened as he realized how messed up everything had gotten, amazed that I was trusting him like this, and love was covering it all, a love for me. Seeing all of that in him told me that what I was about to do was the right thing to do if I could finally do it.

"Luke," I whispered, "it's hard to let someone in, but if I have to choose someone to let in, it would be you, Luke." The shock in his eyes showed that it was the last thing he expected from me; it was actually the last thing I would have expected two weeks ago, but a lot had changed in two weeks, and my feelings were one of them. "I love you, Luke Castellan – always have, always will – and you're going to be the first – and possibly the last – one I let into this part of me." I paused to let it sink in before adding in one final thing.

"Please, don't make me regret it," I begged.

Looking into his eyes, I could see that he was going to try with everything he had to never make me regret my decision. That one look told me I had made the right choice.

Uncrossing my arms, I stepped towards Luke. Wrapping my arms around his abdomen, I felt his own arms wrapping around me for the first time in years. Leaning against him, I let Luke hold my weight, which he did without thinking.

For the first time in my life, I let go of the pain, the anguish, the anger, the feeling of betrayal, my past, and everything else besides my love for Luke, my happiness and joy, and any other good feelings I had for my friends and my life.

I felt as if, inside of Luke's arms, someone else was carrying my burden with me, taking part of it and making it bearable. I knew that after this, my burden would be lighter, and it would continue to get lighter until the burden of my past was gone, with only the future to look forward to.

"I love you, Thalia Grace," Luke whispered in my ear as he held me just a little bit tighter.

"And I love you, Luke Castellan," I muttered back under my breath right by his ear, my own arms tightening around him ever so slightly, before my head fell to his chest to rest there.

For the first time in my life, I felt at peace.

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_This is Miz636, Percabeth777's Beta, here. When I was reviewing the final chapter of this story, my mind just started thinking up most of the dialogue for this scene. After reviewing and PMing her to tell her about how I had an idea, Percabeth777 pushed me to write the scene so that she could add it as an extra to the sequel. I spent somewhere between one and two hours working on this, and I've edited it three times, making it as perfect as I could._

_If you ask Percabeth777, she will tell you that one of the reasons she wanted me to write this is because I just GET Thalia, and she wanted to see how I thought this scene would happen. She told me at least two times that she was excited to see this scene._

_Leave a review about what you think of this, and I'll see it by looking at the reviews on the story. If you want to PM me to ask me or talk about something with me, just send me a message. I might not get to it until the next day or two as I'm out of town and a bit busy during the week, but I'll reply and talk with you._

_I hope you all enjoyed my take on this scene._

_Miz636, Percabeth777's Beta and proud to be it._


	19. Extra's Part Two

**Here it is! As some of you requested, a closer look at the scene when Annabeth kisses Luke. I'm sorry for taking just about forever to get this up! I really hope you enjoy it! **

**As always, thanks to my beta, Miz636, for the editing and for all the help with Luke's thoughts.**

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**Chapter Fifteen: Annabeth and Luke Kiss Scene Outtake**

The evening was quiet.

If the fact that Luke was back and awake at camp wasn't enough, then Annabeth was sure the silence of the night would eventually drive her insane.

Thick, dark, storm clouds dragged along in the sky and the wind outside of camp was picking up. A storm was coming, and Annabeth found herself walking towards the Big House, the building she had been avoiding ever since Luke had woken up.

She couldn't explain it to herself, but the fact remained: Annabeth had been avoiding facing Luke again. Seeing him again would spark things inside Annabeth that she had long buried deep inside of her, and that was exactly what she was afraid of. Not to mention, lately she had already found herself running away from Percy, too, and it scared her more than anything.

She just couldn't face the two people who seemed to be driving her thoughts crazy. She felt torn in half, and all she wanted to do was hide underneath the protection of her invisibility cap, and vanish away from the world for a second. She was much stronger than that, though, and she wasn't going to take the easy way out.

Feeling the heaviness of the air, Annabeth took in a breath while curving her fingers tighter around the door knob, preparing herself for what she was about to do. She was about to face _him_; she was going to face Luke after all these years.

When Annabeth stepped inside the room, where Luke laid in his bed, she didn't feel different. It was exactly like visiting Luke like she had been these past weeks while he was unconscious, making sure he was okay. Except this time he was awake, and his blue eyes fell on Annabeth as she entered.

Luke tried to sit up, but failed as the pain struck in a muscle in his chest. He stared at Annabeth as if he was confirming that she was actually real, that it wasn't just his mind acting up.

"Annabeth?" Luke asked, surprise in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

Annabeth crossed her arms, unable to answer that question for herself. She didn't know what she was doing here. All she knew was that she wanted to stop running away from herself; she needed answers, and if facing Luke was the only way to do it, then she was going to do it. Annabeth took a few slow steps forward across the wooden floorboard of the room. "I just… I just wanted to see you."

She could feel Luke's sharp eyes fixed on her, studying her. "Are you alright?" he asked, breaking the silence that had filled the small room. Luke could tell that something was wrong. It confused him, and all he wanted at the moment was to help her.

Annabeth put on her best smile. "I'm fine," she said, hoping he would buy it, but Luke's eyes remained steady on her.

"No, you're not," he stated, concern in his voice as he observed the sixteen-year-old girl standing in front of him. Luke had known her long enough to tell that she was lying.

Hearing those words brought a slow smile to Annabeth's face, and she found herself flashing back to years ago. The tone in his voice reminded her that Luke always knew when something was bothering her. Whether Annabeth was just having a bad day, or whether it was the memories of her father and step-mother haunting her when she was small; Luke had always been there to understand her. Annabeth could see now more than ever that Luke just _knew_ when something was wrong, the way he did now.

"I'm fine. I promise," Annabeth said, surprised at how quickly Luke had already brought a small smile to her lips. She walked towards the single chair in the room which stood against the wall, and she positioned it across from the side of his bed. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Luke nodded slowly, watching as Annabeth took a seat in front of him. He wasn't convinced at the least, but he knew he wasn't going to get an answer out of Annabeth so easily. "Thanks," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

As Annabeth stared at him for what seemed like hours, silence consuming the air, the memories came flooding back quicker than she was ready for. Just looking at him made her feel like her heart felt like it was sinking, and her eyes burned. Her voice cracked when she spoke. "You know, I missed you a lot, Luke."

The thing Luke said next was what she wasn't expecting. He said, "I'm sorry."

The strange thing was that he meant it more than he could ever explain to her. Luke knew he had hurt the girl in front of him, just like the way he had hurt another girl, one with electric blue eyes. He had never wanted it to get this far, and now laying helplessly on the bed, he couldn't do anything else but say the single word. The single word that seemed to have no meaning compared to what he felt. _Sorry_.

The words struck at her hard, and they were enough to get her vision to blur in tears for a second. Annabeth didn't realize it at the time, but she was letting her emotions take over; she wasn't thinking anymore. She felt exhausted. "You just left me, Luke. I needed you there," Annabeth said, subconsciously letting her hand reach forward to touch Luke's.

He gripped Annabeth's fingers tightly. "I never meant to hurt you, Annabeth. You know that I didn't have a choice -"

"Yes you did." Annabeth cut him off, her gray eyes hard as she stared back at Luke. "Why did you leave? Do you have any idea what it was like looking into your eyes as the enemy?"

"Annabeth." There was warmth in Luke's voice, suddenly reminding Annabeth of the way he would sit down with her all those nights when she was nearly seven and talk to her quietly; explaining things to her until she was fully satisfied with her problems. "I was angry at the gods. There never had mercy on us. They let Thalia _die_, Annabeth. I just… I needed to make them pay."

Annabeth listened silently, trying to read Luke's eyes, the eyes she hadn't gotten a full look at in so long. For the first time since she had last seen him on the battle ground, they weren't the same cold blue eyes that had been resenting her. They were eyes full of pain and sorrow; the pain Annabeth could understand.

"After I was with Kronos, I didn't have a choice anymore, Annabeth. I never wanted to hurt you," Luke continued. "I didn't _want_ any of this to happen."

"I know," Annabeth said in barely a whisper, quieting Luke. Right that second, there was a look in Luke's eyes telling Annabeth that it was the first time any one had ever understood him. For a second, Luke looked grateful.

He _was_ grateful. Luke had never before heard any words like the ones that had just come out her mouth; words telling him that someone believed him, someone was on his side. Annabeth was the first to see it, and he couldn't help but love her even more than he already did. She was his _family_, after all. The only family he knew.

Outside of the thick walls, the sound of the wind sounded quietly and the waves from the ocean that could be seen through the window caught Annabeth's eyes. Just for a minute, the thought of Percy crossed Annabeth's mind, and it was enough to makes her throat feel dry.

Her heart sped, and sitting there Annabeth felt like she had never been more confused.

"You look so much older now," Luke told her quietly, his voice bringing her out of her thoughts. Luke was searching Annabeth's face, and she swore she could have seen him smiling again. He wore the same warm smile that she had been deprived of for so many years.

It hurt Luke more than he had thought to see Annabeth in front of him again. He had always sworn he was going to be by her side, yet he had missed the most important parts of seeing her grow up. Her golden streaked hair was so much longer than he could remember, the curls cascading over her shoulders. Her delicate features were now sharp and gorgeous as they shone upon her face.

Their eyes locked, and even though Annabeth had held onto this moment from ever since she could remember - the moment when she would finally be able to sit in front of Luke again, and be able to look into his eyes without fear - something kept poking Annabeth in the back of her head. The image of green eyes shot through Annabeth's mind, and it was enough to make Annabeth look away from Luke.

She swallowed, trying to collect herself. There was a hollow feeling in Annabeth's chest, and it hurt more than she could bear. "You've been gone for five years, Luke," Annabeth managed to say. "What do you expect?"

The smile on Luke's face as he looked at her - so much older and beautiful now - made her heart sink deeper.

Annabeth wasn't thinking when she absently leaned forward, touching the scar on the side of Luke's face.

He flinched at her touch, realizing that her face was so close to his now. Annabeth ran her fingers along his cheek, tracing the narrow line of uprooted skin that seemed to look blood red. "Does it hurt?" Annabeth whispered.

"Yeah…a little," Luke admitted as he tried to tune out the pain. "I've been weaker. If it wasn't for Calypso finding me… I don't think I would have made it."

"Don't say that!" Annabeth snapped, surprising ever herself. She gripped Luke's fingers tighter in her hand. "I don't want to think about what it was like when you weren't here, Luke. If I ever lost you again…"

More wind howled past the borders outside of camp, and Annabeth seemed to catch herself with exactly what she was saying. Everything about the moment was startling Annabeth, and for a second she leaned back. Her eyes fixed on the window, which showed her that the sun had disappeared and a storm was approaching quickly across the dark, gloomy sky.

She wasn't supposed to be here, Annabeth thought, at least not while she had sworn to Percy that she was only his.

Luke frowned in confusion as he watched Annabeth looking out the window, obviously confused and torn apart inside. He didn't know what was going through her mind at the moment, but he knew that she was hurting. It pained him more than ever now to not know what was causing it or to know that he couldn't comfort her that way he wanted to. He couldn't simply hold her in his arms anymore and tell her it would be okay; he wasn't going to make half-hearted promises that he couldn't live up to.

"So…Calypso," Annabeth found herself saying; the urge to change the topic suddenly eating up at her, "does she take care of you?"

"Yeah, she's been really helpful," he told her as he thought about how much Calypso had healed and done for him. As he stared at her, he flashed back to something Calypso had said. He found himself saying, "She…uh, she told me -"

Annabeth met his eyes. When Luke didn't speak, Annabeth asked, "What?"

"She told me about…you and Percy," Luke said, his eyes were clearer than ever, but he hesitated at the fear of Annabeth taking his words the wrong way. "You're with him now?"

The question shouldn't have bothered Annabeth as much as it did, coming from Luke's mouth. At that moment, Annabeth felt like everything inside of her that she was trying to keep together might have shattered. There were a million things on her mind, and the last thing she needed right now was a reminder of Percy.

She could almost imagine Percy; he would be in his cabin now. Percy would never do anything to hurt her, yet here she was torn in two pieces over him and the boy who lay in front of her; the only person who had cared about her when she was little and left with no one.

Luke was the one who had always been there for her before he had lost himself with Kronos. Staring at Luke, Annabeth thought she could have felt anger, bitterness, betrayal - anything that could have proved how much he had hurt Annabeth all the years he was away. But, as Annabeth sat in front of him, the only thing that she felt was pain, pain because of her confusion.

"…_make up your mind. It's either me or Luke,"_ Percy's voice echoed through Annabeth's head. They were the words he had told Annabeth while he was frustrated, and now they came back to her as she closed her eyes hard enough to push back the tears.

"Are you alright?" Luke said, looking at Annabeth. He extended his hand, the one that wasn't in wrapped around Annabeth's fingers, and brushed back the hair that had fallen onto her face. He could tell that something was terribly wrong.

Luke was genuinely concerned, and Annabeth felt like her skin was on fire. Her head was spinning so fast with the millions of thoughts rushing through her that she felt like she could have completely lost it any second.

"Percy…" Luke found himself saying, wondering if Percy was the one causing Annabeth's turmoil. He watched Annabeth carefully as he asked, "he takes care of your, right?"

"_Yes_." Annabeth spit out more quickly than she meant to. She didn't want Luke to get the wrong idea, but she couldn't conceal herself anymore. She stuttered out, "Percy…Percy would never hurt me."

Annabeth could see Percy's eyes in the back of her head every time she blinked. She saw the same green eyes that could make all her problems go away when they were once filled with frustration, ordering her to make a choice.

Annabeth's heart was throbbing so hard, she thought it might come right out of her chest.

Luke's eyes were questioning, filled with concern as he stared at Annabeth silently, and it was enough to make Annabeth block out all her thoughts. For a second, she stopped to take a sharp breath, gathering herself all over again.

It had become pitch dark outside and only a dim lamp sitting on the table beside her lit the room. Annabeth hovered above Luke as he lay in his bed, and she could see every inch of Luke's face perfectly.

Everything was happening too fast before Annabeth even had time to catch herself. She leaned forward, touching Luke's face. Her hands were cold on his cheek.

Luke stared at Annabeth's face coming closer and he only had time to whisper, "Annabeth... hold on. What are you doing?" Luke was confused, worried, and a bit frightened by what was happening with Annabeth, but there wasn't anything he could have done at the moment.

When she was just an inch away from Luke, she felt like she could see into his right into his eyes. Annabeth had always thought she understood love when it came to Luke, but all of that had changed when Percy had shown up five years ago.

Annabeth pushed those thoughts away. At the moment all Annabeth could see was Luke, and that he was finally in front of her again after all these years. She needed to know the truth; she needed to know exactly what she felt for Luke. She couldn't think to care about anything else. "I missed you," Annabeth whispered, her lips barely centimeters away from his. Luke's eyes widened.

The thing Annabeth did next was something that she only found out later that she would never forgive herself for. Annabeth Chase kissed Luke.

When her lips were on Luke's, it was like a cold, sharp jolt of electricity ran through her skin, and her head was spinning faster than she had ever felt before. His lips were warm on hers, and time moved by quicker than she had time to count.

Luke was in shock as he realized what was happening. Annabeth, the girl he taken care of ever since she was young, was kissing him. He could feel the soft, cool, skin of her lips pressed tightly against his mouth, and his raw and cut lips stung at the touch of hers. Luke didn't have time to think or a way to stop what was happening, but the only thing that was going through his mind was a prayer that Annabeth would be alright. She was tearing herself apart on the inside, and he could feel her burning tears slip out of her eyes as she moved her lips against his.

Outside, lightening stuck, shaking the sky. It filled the room with light just for a second, and it startled Annabeth enough to break her trance. She nearly jumped, backing away from Luke.

In the process, her hand hit the lamp next to her, making it fall and come crashing towards the floor, shattering. The room went pitch black, and Annabeth edged away in the darkness.

"Annabeth -" Luke tried to say, wanting to calm her down, but Annabeth felt like she had reached her limit and her head felt like it could have exploded. He wanted to tell her something, anything, which would make her listen. He wanted to tell her that he loved her; that she was like his little sister.

As she backed towards the door, Luke caught sight of her face in the narrow light from the corridor. She looked as if she couldn't believe what she had just done, and all she could manage to choke out was, "I'm so sorry. I didn't- I didn't mean to."

The last Luke saw of her face was as she left the room, absolutely startled, with tears and confusion rimming her gray eyes. It pained him to see her like this, but the only thing he had left to do now was hope that Percy would save her from breaking apart; catch her before she fell just like he had five years ago when Luke left her standing on a nothing but a bridge made of a single strand of thread.

Little did Annabeth know, she was only leaving the room to be met by Percy where he would soon tell her three little words strong enough to make her forget any of this had ever even happened.

* * *

**Thanks for reading this extra! I really hope you enjoyed! It was my first attempt at Third Person, so I hope I succeeded with it. This was tweaked just about a thousand times, and I hope this final product turned out well. I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts! _Please_ review! **


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